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THE  UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

LIBRARY 


THE  WILMER  COLLECTION 

OF  CIVIL  WAR  NOVELS 

PRESENTED  BY 

RICHARD  H.  WILMER,  JR. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2009  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/rod^eypartisanOOcast 


/> 


jUUmRCOLLEC 


Rodney  Bids  his  Mother  Farewell. 


CASTLEMON'S   WAR  SERIES. 


Rodney  the  Partisan 


BY 

HARRY    CASTLEMON, 

AUTHOR   OF   "gunboat   SERIES,"  "  ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    SERIES,' 
"sportsman's   club   series,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


Four  Illustrations  by  Geo.  G.  White, 


PHILADELPHIA  : 

PORTER   &  COATES. 


Copyright,  1890, 

BY 

PORTER  &  COATES. 


CONTENTS. 


/ 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I. — RODNEY   KEEPS   HIS  PROMISE,      ....  5 

II. — THE   RANGERS  ELECT  OFFICERS,     ...  29 

III. — DRILLS  AND  PARADES, 53 

IV. — A   SCHEME   THAT  DIDN't   WORK,       ...  78 

V. — A   WARNING, 99 

VI. — UNDER   SUSPICION, 124 

VII. — THE   EMERGENCY  MEN, 149 

VIII. — RODNEY   PROVES   HIS   FRIENDSHIP,             .           .  172 

IX.— ON  THE  ROAD, 196 

X. — COMPARING   NOTES, 218 

XL— RODNEY  MAKES   A   TRADE,  .  .  .  .241 

XII.— TWICE   SURPRISED, 264 

XIII. — WITH  price's  men, 287 

XIV.— "  HURRAH   FOR  BULL   RUN  !  "           ...  312 

XV. — A  FULL-FLEDGED   PARTISAN,         .            .           .           .  834 

XVI. — THE   CONSCRIPTION  ACT,            ....  357 

XVII. — RODNEY  MEETS   A  FRIEND,            ....  378 

XVIII.— CONCLUSION, 399 


602908 


RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 


a 


SO  you 
are  y< 


CHAPTER  I. 

EODNEY   KEEPS    HIS    PROMISE. 

O  you  are  going  to  stick  to  your  uniform, 
you  ?  I  thought  perhax)s  you  would 
be  glad  to  see  yourself  in  citizen's  clothes  once 
more,  and  so  I  told  Jane  to  put  one  of  your  old 
suits  on  the  bed  where  you  would  be  sure  to 
see  it." 

It  Avas  Mrs.  Gray  who  spoke,  and  her  w^ords 
were  addressed  to  her  son  Rodney,  who  just 
then  stepped  out  of  the  hall  upon  the  wide 
gallery  where  his  father  and  mother  were 
sitting.  Rodney  had  been  at  home  about  half 
an  hour — just  long  enough,  in  fact,  to  take  a 
good  w^ash  and  exchange  his  fatigue  suit  for  a 
sergeant's  full  uniform. 

In  the  first  volume  of  this  series  of  books  we 
told  of  the  attentions  our  Union  hero,  Marcy 

5 


C>  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

Gray,  received  while  lie  was  on  the  way  to  his 
home  iiijS'orth  Carolina,  and  how  very  distaste- 
ful and  annoying  they  were  to  him.  We  said 
that  the  jDassengers  on  his  train  took  him  for 
just  what  he  wasn't — a  rebel  soldier  fresh  from 
the  seat  of  war,  or  a  recruit  on  his  way  to  join 
some  Southern  regiment — and  praised  and 
petted  him  accordingly.  Marcy  didn't  dare 
tell  the  excited  men  around  him  that  he  was 
strong  for  the  Union,  that  he  had  refused  to 
cheer  the  Stars  and  Bars  when  they  were 
hoisted  on  the  tower  of  the  Barrington  Mili- 
tary Academy,  and  that  if  a  war  came  he 
hoped  the  secessionists  would  be  thrashed  until 
they  were  brought  to  their  senses — Marcy  did 
not  dare  give  utterance  to  these  sentiments, 
for  fear  that  some  of  the  half  tipsy  passengers 
in  his  car  might  use  upon  him  the  revolvers 
they  flourished  about  so  recklessly.  He  was 
obliged  to  sail  under  false  colors  until  he 
reached  Boydtown  in  his  native  State,  where 
Morris,  his  mothers  coachman,  was  waiting 
for  him.  Rodney  Gray,  the  rebel,  wdio  you 
will  remember  left  the  academy  a  few  weeks 
before    Marcy    did,    received    just    as    much 


RODNEY    KEEPS   HIS    PROMISE.  7 

attention  during  his  homeward  journey. 
Sumter  had  not  yet  been  fired  upon,  but  the 
passengers  on  the  train  were  pretty  certain  it 
was  going  to  be,  and  gave  it  as  their  opinion 
that  if  the  "  Lincolnites  "  attempted  "  sub- 
jugation "  they  would  be  neatly  whipped  for 
their  pains.  Being  in  full  sympathy  with  the 
passengers  Kodney  was  not  afraid  to  tell  who 
and  what  he  was. 

''lam  neither  a  soldier  nor  a  recruit,"  he 
said  over  and  over  again,  when  some  enthusi- 
astic rebel  shook  him  by  the  hand  and  praised 
him  for  so  promptly  responding  to  the  Presi- 
dent's call  for  volunteers.  "I  am  a  Barring- 
ton  cadet  on  my  way  home,  and  I  am  under 
promise  to  enlist  inside  of  twenty-four  hours 
after  I  get  there.  Do  you  see  this  gray  suit  ? 
I  shall  not  w^ear  any  other  color  until  the 
independence  of  the  Southern  States  has  been 
acknowledged  by  the  world." 

Such  sentiments  as  these  never  failed  to 
"bring  down  the  car,"  as  Rodney  afterward 
expressed  it  when  describing  some  of  the 
incidents  of  his  journey  from  Barrington, 
and  many  of  the  passengers  assured  him  that 


8  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

he  would  be  at  liberty  to  put  on  a  citizen's 
suit  in  less  than   six  months. 

"The  fighting  wont  amount  to  anything," 
said  one,  who  talked  as  if  he  thought  him- 
self able  to  whip  the  Avhole  Yankee  nation 
alone  and  unaided.  "It  will  be  over  in  a 
good  deal  less  than  six  months,  but  you 
gallant  fellows  will  have  to  wear  your  uni- 
forms a  little  longer  in  order  to  escort  Presi- 
dent Davis  to  Washington.  He  will  dictate 
terms  of  peace  in  the   enemy's  caj)ital." 

"If  our  President  will  only  do  that,  I 
will  stay  in  the  army  ten  years  if  it  is  neces- 
sary," declared  Rodney,  and  he  meant  every 
word  of  it,  for  he  was  carried  away  by  his 
enthusiasm. 

A  good  many  foolish  notions  of  this  sort 
were  drummed  into  Rodney  Gray's  head 
during  his  two  days'  journey  from  Barring- 
ton  to  Mooreville.  He  afterward  had  occasion 
to  recall  some  of  them,  and  to  wonder  how 
he  ever  came  to  accept  them  as  the  truth. 
But  he  kept  his  word  so  far  as  his  uniform 
was  concerned  ;  that  is  to  say,  he  returned 
to  the  closet  the   citizen  s  suit  that  had  been 


KODNEY    KEEPS    HIS    PPwOMISE.  9 

laid  out  for  him,  and  rigged  liimself  up  as  if 
he  were  going  on  dress  parade.  His  mother 
looked  at  him  with  fond  and  admiring  eyes 
as  he  stepped  upon  the  gallery  and  seated 
himself  in  the  easy  chair  that  one  of  the 
attentive  darkies  placed  for  him  ;  for  Rodney 
was  an  only  child,  and  a  very  fine  looking 
young  soldier  besides. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  in  reply  to  his  mother's 
question.  "I  am  going  to  stick  to  my  uni- 
form. It  is  the  color  that  has  been  adopted 
by  our  government,  and,  as  I  told  some  of 
the  passengers  on  the  train,  Til  not  wear 
any  other  until  we  have  secured  our  inde- 
pendence." 

"Nobly  said  !  "  exclaimed  Rodney's  mother, 
who  was  as  strong  for  secession  as  Marcy 
Gray's  mother  was  for  the  Union.  "I  was 
sure  you  would  not  stay  at  home  very  long 
after  your  State  called  for  your  services.  I 
don't  think  you  will  have  to  wear  the  gray  for 
a  very  great  while,  but  your  father  thinks  he 
sees  trouble  in  the  near  future." 

"I  don't  think  so  my  dear;  I  know  so," 
replied  Mr.  Gray,  in  answer  to  an  inquiring 


10  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


look  from  Rodney,     ''The    North    can  raise 
more  men  than  we  can." 

"That  was  what  the  colonel  said  when  I 
asked  him  to  let  me  come  home,"  exclaimed 
Rodney.  ''He  said,  further,  that  the  Nor- 
thern  people  are  not  cowardly— they  are  only 
patient ;  and  that  there  will  come  a  time  when 
their  patience  will  all  be  gone,  and  then  they 
will  sweep  over  ns  like  a  cloud  of  locusts." 

''  And  did  you  believe  any  such  nonsense  ?  " 
inquired  Mrs.  Gray.  "What  will  our  brave 
people  be  doing  while  the  hated  Yankees  are 
sweeping  over  us?  Don't  you  remember  our 
President  said  the  fighting  must  all  be  done 
on  Northern  soil?" 

"  It  takes  two  to  make  a  bargain,"  said  Mr. 
Gray,  quietly. 

"That's  just  what  Marcy  said,"  exclaimed 
Rodney  "That  boy  is  going  to  get  himself 
into  business  before  he  gets  through  talking. 
He's  Union  to  the  back-bone,  and  while  I  was 
at  the  academy  he  didn't  hesitate  to  speak  his 
sentiments  as  often  as  he  felt  like  it.  If  he 
keeps  that  up  when  he  gets  home  .his  neigh- 
bors may  take  him  in  hand." 


RODNEY   KEEPS   HIS    PROMISE.  11 

''  I  am  sorry  to  hear  that  about  Marcy," 
said  Mr.  Gray,  thoughtfully.  ^'He  is  a 
traitor  and  his  mother  must  be  another.  I 
wonder  where  Sailor  Jack  stands.  By  the 
way,  where  is  Jack  ? ' ' 

"  He  was  at  sea  the  last  I  heard,  and  I  sup- 
pose Marcy  and  his  mother  are  greatly  wor- 
ried about  him.  And  well  they  may  be  ;  for 
of  course  we'll  have  a  big  fleet  of  privateers 
afloat  within  a  month  after  war  is  declared. 
But,  father,  do  you  think  there  is  going  to  be 
a  war  ? ' ' 

"I  am  sure  of  it,"  answered  Mr.  Gray. 

^'  And  it  will  be  fought  on  Southern  soil  ?  " 

"It  will." 

''  Well,  how  long  do  you  think  I  shall  have 
to  wear  this  uniform  1 ' ' 

"  If  you  don't  take  it  off  until  the  South 
gains  her  independence,  you  will  have  to  wear 
it  as  long  as  you  live." 

"Why,  father!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Gray, 
dropping  her  sewing  into  her  lap  and  looking 
fixedly  at  her  husband,  who  leaned  back  in  his 
big  chair  watching  the  smoke  from  his  cigar. 
"How  can  you  bring  yourself  to  utter  such 


12  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAI^. 

treasonable  language  in  your  son's  hearing? 
You  know  vou  do  not  believe  a  word  of  it." 

ft/ 

"Never  fear  for  me,  mother,"  said  Rodnej^, 
with  a  laugh.  "  I  know  where  you  stand  and 
I  am  wath  you." 

''There  was  nothing  treasonable  in  what  I 
said,  and  I  do  believe  every  word  of  it," 
replied  Mr.  Gray.  "I  am  as  firm  a  friend  to 
the  South  as  any  man  in  the  state,  and  will  make 
as  many  sacrifices  as  the  next  one  to  secure 
her  independence.  Why  shouldn't  I  ?  Every 
thing  I've  got  in  the  world  is  right  here,  and 
if  the  South  doesn't  succeed  in  her  efforts  to 
free  herself,  we'll  be  beggars,  the  last  one  of 
us.  I  wish  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart  that 
when  our  armies  get  started  they  might  sweep 
every  abolitionist  in  the  country  into  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  ;  but  they'll  not  be  able  to  do  it. 
The  Union  has  cost  the  JS'orthern  peojile  so 
much  blood  and  treasure  that  they  will  not 
permit  it  to  be  destroyed." 

"  I  reckon  the  South  had  about  as  much  to 
do  with  the  war  of  the  Revolution  as  the 
North  did,"  declared  Rodney. 

"And  another  thing,  the  Northern  people 


RODNEY   KEEPS   HIS    PROMISE.  13 

will  not  figlit,"  Mrs.  Gray  hastened  to  add. 
"Wasn't  it  the  South  that  did  the  most  to- 
ward whipping  Mexico  ?  '^ 

"  And  wasn't  it  the  North  that  did  the  most 
toward  whipping  England?"  retorted  Mr. 
Gray.  "  Look  here,"  he  added,  starting  up  in 
his  chair  when  he  saw  Rodney  and  his  mother 
look  toward  each  other  with  a  smile  of  dis- 
belief on  their  faces.  "You  must  have  for- 
gotten your  history,  you  two.  During  the 
Revolutionary  War  the  colonies  raised  two 
hundred  and  thirty-two  thousand  men  to  fight 
England,  and  of  this  number  the  North  raised 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand,  or 
more  than  three-fourths  of  the  whole.  Mass- 
achusetts gave  sixty-eight  thousand ;  Con- 
necticut gave  thirty-two  thousand ;  Pennsyl- 
vania twent^^-six  thousand,  and  New  York 
eighteen  thousand  ;  while  that  miserable  little 
South  Carolina  gave  only  six  thousand.  And 
yet  she  has  the  impudence  to  talk  and  act  as 
if  she  owned  the  country.  It  would  have  been 
money  in  her  pocket  and  ours  if  she  had  been 
sunk  out  of  sight  in  the  Atlantic  before  she 
was  made  into  a  state." 


14  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

There  were  three  things  that  surprised  Rod- 
ney so  much  that  for  a  minute  or  two  he 
could  not  sj)eak — his  father's  sentiments,  the 
earnest  and  emphatic  manner  in  which  he  ex- 
pressed them,  and  the  items  of  history  to 
which  he  had  just  listened  and  which  were 
quite  new  to  him,  as  they  may  be  to  more  than 
one  boy  Avho  reads  this  story.  But  Mr.  G-ray 
was  like  a  good  many  other  men  in  the  South. 
He  did  not  believe  in  disunion  (although  he 
did  believe  in  State  Rights),  but  now  that  the 
South  was  fully  committed  to  it,  he  knew  that 
he  must  do  what  he  could  to  make  the  attempt 
at  separation  successful.  If  it  failed,  he  and 
every  other  slave-holder  in  the  South  would  be 
financially  ruined. 

"Then  I  suppose  you  don't  want  me  to  go 
into  the  army?"  said  Rodney,  at  length. 

"I didn't  say  so  ;  I  didn't  so  much  as  hint 
at  such  a  thing,"  rei^lied  his  father,  hastily. 

"But  what's  the  use  of  enlisting  if  I  am 
going  to  get  whipped  ?  I  don' t  see  any  fun  in 
that." 

"Oh,  we've  got  to  fight;  we  have  gone  too 
far  to  back  out.     We   must  hold   out  until 


RODNEY   KEEPS    HIS    PROMISE.  15 

England  and  France  recognize  our  indepen- 
dence— and  that  will  not  be  long,  for  England 
must  have  cotton — and  then  we  can  snap  our 
fingers  at  the  Yankees.  You  can  take  your 
choice  of  one  of  two  things  :  Stay  at  home  and 
look  out  for  your  mother  and  let  me  go,  or  go 
yourself. ' ' 

''You  stay  and  let  me  go,"  answered  the 
boy  promptly.  "I  gave  my  word  to  some  of 
the  fellows  that  I  would  enlist  within  twenty - 
four  hours  after  I  reached  home,  if  I  could  get 
to  a  recruiting  office,  and  they  promised  to  do 
the  same." 

''Very  Avell,"  said  Mr.  Gray,  "I  shall  not 
say  one  word  to  turn  you  from  your  purpose, 
and  neither  will  your  mother." 

Mrs.  Gray  started  when  she  heard  these 
words.  She  had  talked  very  bravely  about 
"giving  her  boy  his  sword  and  shield  and 
sending  him  forth  to  battle,"  and  she  had 
thought  she  could  do  it  without  a  tremor  ;  but 
now  that  the  matter  was  brought  right  home 
to  her,  she  found,  as  many  another  mother 
did,  that  it  was  going  to  be  the  hardest  task  she 
had  ever  set  for  herself.     Rodney  was  safe  at 


16  RODXEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

scliool,  liundreds  of  miles  away  from  lier  when 
she  uttered  those  patriotic  words  ;  now^  he  was 
within  hearing  of  her  voice,  and  all  she  had  to 
do  w^as  to  tell  him  to  mount  his  horse  and  go. 
She  could  not  do  it ;  but  her  husband,  who 
believed  that  the  matter  might  as  w^ell  be 
settled  one  time  as  another,  continued — 

'^  There  is  an  independent  company  of  cav- 
alry camped  about  a  mile  the  other  side  of 
Mooreville,  and  I  know  they  would  be  glad  to 
take  you  in.  The  company  is  made  up  of  the 
very  best  men  in  the  count}^,  many  of  whom 
are  your  personal  friends,  and  every  member 
has  to  be  balloted  for." 

''  They  are  nearly  all  wealthy,  and  some  of 
them  are  going  to  take  their  body  servants  to 
the  front  with  them,"  added  Mrs.  Gray,  try- 
ing to  look  cheerful  although  her  eyes  w^ere 
filled  with  tears.  ''Your  father  and  I  spent 
an  afternoon  in  their  camp,  and  you  don't 
know  how  nicely  they  are  situated — all  the 
luxuries  the  country  affords  on  their  tables, 
and  then  they  are  so  full  of  martial  ardor  !  " 

"Yes,"  assented  Mr.  Gray.  "We  found  it 
a  regulation  holiday  camp — nothing  to  do  and 


RODNEY    KEEPS   HIS    PROMISE.  17 

plenty  of  darkies  to  do  it.  They  were  having 
no  end  of  fun,  lying  around  in  the  shade  abus- 
ing the  Yankees.  But  wait  until  they  meet 
those  same  Yankees  in  battle,  and  their  blacks 
run  away  from  them,  and  then  they  have  to  do 
their  own  cooking  and  forage  for  their  bacon 
and  hard-tack,  and  then  they  will  know 
what  soldiering  means." 

"Now,  father,"  protested  Mrs.  Gray. 
"  Why  do  you  talk  so  when  Rodney  is  on  the 
eve  of  enlisting  ?  You  surely  do  not  wish  to 
discourage  him  ? " 

''By  no  means.  I  only  Avant  to  make  him 
see,  before  he  swears  away  his  liberty  for  the 
next  twelve  months,  that  he  is  not  going  on  a 
Fourth  of  July  picnic.  If  he  knows  what  is 
before  him,  he  will  not  be  surprised  or  dis- 
heartened when  the  hard  times  come." 

''  I  know  a  little  something  about  soldiering, 
and  you  need  have  no  fears  that  anything 
father  can  say  will  discourage  me,"  R-odney 
said  to  his  mother.  "I  have  passed  my  word, 
and  consider  myself  as  good  as  enlisted 
already.  Who  commands  that  company  of 
cavalry  ? ' ' 


18  EODXEY,  THE   PAETISAN. 


*'Bob  Hubbard  is  the  one  who  is  getting  it 
up,  but  there  isn't  an 3^  real  commander  yet. 
The  boys  do  just  about  as  they  please,  and  will 
keep  on  doing  so  until  the  officers  are  elected, 
which  will  be  when  they  have  eighty '  men 
enrolled.  Bob  says  that  if  they  elect  him  cap- 
tain, and  I  reckon  he  stands  as  good  a  chance 
as  anybody,  the  boys  will  have  to  come  down 
to  Limerick  and  quit  leaving  camp  and  stay- 
ing in  town  over  night  whenever  the  notion 
takes  them." 

"  Have  they  seen  any  service  at  all  ? "  asked 
Kodney. 

"None  except  what  some  of  them  saw  while 
they  were  members  of  the  State  militia," 
answered  his  father.  "They  heljied  capture 
the  United  States  arsenal  at  Baton  Rouge  and 
hoist  the  Pelican  flag  over  it,  and  you  would 
have  thought  by  the  way  they  acted  that  they 
had  done  something  grand.  But  the  work  was 
accomplished  without  the  firing  of  a  shot,  the 
major  in  command  offering  to  surrender  if  a 
force  of  six  or  eight  hundred  men  was  brouglit 
against  him.  By  the  way,"  added  Mr.  Gray 
getting  upon   his   feet  and  tossing  aside  the 


RODNEY   KEEPS    HIS    PROMISE.  19 

stump  of  his  cigar,  "I  expected  you  to  do  just 
what  yoa  have  decided  upon,  and  if  you  feel 
like  taking  a  walk  around  to  the  stable  before 
dinner,  I  will  show  you  the  horse  I  bought  for  / 
you  last  week.  Every  '  Ranger '  (that's  what 
Hubbard  calls  his  men),  furnishes  his  own 
horse,  the  government  allowing  a  small  sum 
for  the  use  of  it ;  and  if  the  horse  dies  or  is 
killed  in  battle,  the  unlucky  Ranger  is  ex- 
pected to  get  another  the  best  way  he  can." 

"Where  is  this  company  going  to  serve?" 
inquired  Rodney. 

''I  don't  know,  and  neither  does  Hubbard. 
They  have  offered  to  join  a  regiment  that  is 
being  raised  in  New  Orleans,  but  the  colonel 
commanding  says  he  can't  take  them  unless 
they  will  give  up  their  independent  organiza- 
tion." 

"Oh,  I  hope  they'll  not  think  of  doing 
that." 

"You  needn't  worry.  More  than  one 
Swamp  Fox  like  General  Marion  will  come  to 
the  front  before  this  thing  is  over,  and  Bob's 
company  will  not  be  left  out  in  the  cold.  I 
haven't  said  much  to  your  mother  about  your 


20  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

going  into  the  service,"  Mr.  Gray  went  on, 
throwing  open  the  door  of  a  box  stall  and  hold- 
ing out  an  ear  of  corn  to  a  glossy,  well-con- 
ditioned steed  which  came  np  to  take  a  bite  at 
it.  ''While  she  is  strong  for  secession  and 
very  patriotic  where  other  folks  are  concerned, 
she  don't  want  any  of  the  members  of  her  own 
family  to  go  to  war.  She  thinks  they  are  sure 
to  be  killed." 

''  That  isn't  at  all  like  the  women  and  girls 
around  Barrington,"  replied  Eodney,  stepping 
into  the  stall  and  beginning  a  critical  inspec- 
tion of  his  new  horse.  "  They'll  not  have  any 
thing  to  do  with  a  fellow  who  isn't  willing  to 
prove  his  devotion  to  the  Confederacy.  AVhere 
would  we  get  the  men  to  fight  our  battles  if 
everybody  thought  as  mother  does  ?" 

"Of  course  she  hasn't  said  so,"  Mr.  Gray 
hastened  to  explain.  "She  is  too  good  a 
Southerner  for  that,  but  I  know  it  is  the  way 
she  feels.  What  do  you  think  of  your  horse  ? 
He  is  part  Denmark,  and  that  is  what  makes 
him  so  gentle  ;  and  his  Copper-bottom  blood 
shows  in  his  color.  Almost  all  Copper-bottom 
colts  are  roans." 


RODNEY    KEEPS    HIS    PPwOMISE.  21 


u 


He's  a  beauty,"  Rodney  declared,  with 
enthusiasm.  "  And  as  long  as  I  keep  him  I'll 
never  fall  into  the  clutches  of  the  Yankees. 
He  ought  to  have  speed." 

(And  the  new  horse  did  have  speed,  too,  as 
Rodney  discovered  when  he  rode  him  over  to 
the  camp  of  the  Rangers  that  afternoon  in 
company  with  his  father.  He  moved  as  if  he 
were  set  on  springs  and  showed  himself  impa- 
tient of  restraint ;  but  his  motions  were  so 
easy  that  his  rider  was  scarcely  stirred  in  his 
seat.) 

*'Good-by,  my  son,"  said  Mrs.  Gray,  when 
Rodney's  horse  and  his  father's  were  brought 
to  the  door  after  dinner,  and  the  two  stood  on 
the  gallery  drawing  on  their  gloves.  "You 
belong  to  me  now,  but  I  suppose  that  when 
you  come  back  you  will  belong  to  your 
country." 

"Oh  no  ;  I  can' t  rush  things  through  in  that 
style,"  answered  the  boy.  "I've  got  to  be 
voted  for,  you  know.  But  I  shall  certainly 
tell  Mr.  Hubbard  that  I  am  ready  to  go  if  he 
will  take  me." 

During    the    ride    through    the    village    of 


22  RODiS^Er,  THE  PARTISAN. 

Mooreville  to  the  camp  beyond,  the  onlj^^  indi- 
cations Kodney  saw  of  the  martial  spirit  that 
everywhere  animated  the  people  were  the  Con- 
federate and  State  flags  that  floated  over  all 
the  business  houses,  and  the  red,  white  and 
blue  rosettes,  which  were  worn  principally  by 
the  women  and  girls.  Rodney  was  the  only 
one  in  uniform,  the  Rangers  not  having 
decided  how  they  woukl  equip  themselves 
when  the  time  came  for  them  to  go  to  the 
front.  Rodney  was  kept  busy  returning  the 
salutes  he  received  as  he  rode  along,  and  now 
and  then  some  young  fellow  would  rush  into 
the  street  to  shake  his  hand,  and  inquire  if  he 
was  going  np  to  the  camp  to  give  in  his  name. 
The  camp  was  not  such  a  one  as  the  Bar- 
rington  cadets  used  to  make  when  they  took 
to  the  fields  every  summer  to  reduce  to  prac- 
tice the  military  instruction  they  had  received 
during  the  year.  There  were  tents  in  abun- 
dance, but  they  were  put  up  without  any 
attempt  at  order,  there  were  no  guards  out, 
and  the  few  recruits  there  were  in  camp 
seemed  to  have  nothing  to  do  but  lounge 
around  under  the    trees,   reading  the  papers 


RODNEY   KEEPS   IIIS    PROMISE.  23 

and  talking  over  tlie  situation.  Rodney 
thought  they  might  as  well  have  been  at  home 
for  all  the  good  they  were  doing  there. 

"  This  is  a  pretty  way  to  learn  soldiering," 
said  lie  to  Mr.  Hubbard,  who  promptly  showed 
himself  when  he  heard  the  sound  of  horses' 
hoofs  in  front  of  his  tent.  "How  many  men 
have  you  ?    Will  you  take  in  my  name  ? " 

''You  are  just  the  fellow    we  want  and  I 
wish    we    could    get  fifty    more    like  you," 
replied  Mr.   Hubbard,   returning    the    cordial 
grasp  of  Rodney's  hand.     "  The  boys  will  cer- 
tainly put  you  in  for  something  or  other.     We 
haven't  got  down   to    business    yet,   but  will 
next  week.     I  suppose  that  all  the  military 
knowledge  w^e  get  will    be    by  hard  knocks, 
because,  being  an  independent  company,   we 
cannot  call  upon  any  army  officer  to  drill  us. 
We  are  studying  the  tactics  all  the  time,  but 
are  in  no  hurry  to  get  our  uniforms  until  we 
know  whether  or  not  our  services  are  going  to 
be  needed." 

"Say,"  exclaimed  Rodney,  recalling  to 
mind  something  that  had  been  said  to  him  on 
the  train  a  few  hours  before.     "  If  I  wherein 


24  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

your  place  I'd  lose  no  time  in  getting  ready  to 
march.  President  Davis  is  going  to  dictate 
terms  of  peace  in  Washington.  Wouldn't 
you  like  to  have  your  company  escort  him 
there?" 

"  Now,  that's  an  idea,"  exclaimed  Hubbard, 
while  the  recruits  who  were  standing  around 
listening  to  the  conversation  declared  as  one 
man  that  they  would  do  and  dare  anything  if 
they  could  only  have  a  chance  to  present  arms 
to  the  Confederate  President  when  he  walked 
into  the  White  House.  ''The  boys  will  all  be 
here  at  roll-call  to-night  and  I  will  speak  to 
them  about  it.  At  the  same  time  I  will  pro- 
pose you  for  membership.  You'll  get  in,  of 
course,  and  perhaps  you  had  better  report  to- 
morrow forenoon." 

Although  Kodney  could  not  see  the  use  of 
reporting,  seeing  that  there  was  nothing  to  be 
done  in  camp,  he  promised  to  be  on  hand,  and 
rode  away  to  call  upon  some  of  his  friends  in 
the  village.  He  found,  somewhat  to  his  relief, 
that  there  was  not  a  single  one  among  them 
who  believed  as  his  father  did — that  the  South 
was  sure  to  fail  in  her  efforts  to  dissolve  the 


ROD]N^EY    KEEPS   HIS   PROMISE.  25 

Union.  They  all  thought  as  Kodney  did — 
that  the  Northern  people  belonged  to  an 
inferior  race,  that  there  was  no  fight  in  them, 
and  that  the  States  having  made  the  nation 
could  unmake  it  whenever  they  felt  like  it. 
He  learned  also,  to  his  no  small  indignation, 
that  his  father  did  not  stand  as  high  in  the 
estimation  of  his  neighbors  as  he  might  have 
done  if  he  had  not  exi)ressed  his  opinions  with 
so  much  freedom.  As  he  was  about  to  leave 
the  village  for  home  just  before  dark,  he  en- 
countered an  old  acquaintance  of  his,  Tom 
E<andolx)h  by  name,  who  had  just  returned 
from  the  camp.  . 

"  You're  in,  Kodney,"  said  he,  after  he  had 
given  the  Barrington  boy  a  very  limp  hand  to 
shake.  "To-morrow  forenoon  we're  going  to 
elect  officers  and  get  down  to  business.  Will 
you  be  up  ?" 

Rodney  re]3lied  that  he  would,  and  at  the 
same  time  he  wondered  why  it  was  that  Ran- 
dolph treated  him  so  coolly.  They  never  had 
been  friends.  They  took  a  dislike  to  each 
other  the  first  time  they  met,  and  the  often er 
they  were  thrown  together,  the  stronger  that 


26  RODXEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

dislike  seemed  to  grow.  They  "bad  always 
tried  to  treat  each  other  with  civility,  but  now 
there  was  something  in  Randolph's  way  of 
talking  and  acting  that  Rodney  did  not  like. 

"While  you  were  up  to  camp  to-day  did 
any  of  the  boys  tell  you  that  I  am  a  candidate 
for  second  lieutenant  of  the  comiDany  ?  "  con- 
tinued Randolx)h. 

"You?"  exclaimed  Rodney,  in  genuine 
astonishment. 

"Yes,  me,"  replied  Randolph,  mimicing 
Rodney's  tone  and  look  of  surprise.  "And 
why  haven' 1 1  as  good  a  right  as  anybody,  I 
should  be  pleased  to  know  ? " 

' '  I  sui3]3ose  there  is  no  law  to  prevent  you 
from  running  for  office,  but  you  don't  know 
the  first  thing  about  military  matters.  If  the 
company  was  in  line  this  minute,  and  you 
were  second  lieutenant  of  it,  you  couldn't  go 
to  your  position  unless  somebody  showed  you 
where  it  was." 

"  Well,  I  can  learn,  can't  I  ?  "  snapped  Ran- 
dolph. "You  didn't  know  trail  arms  from 
right-shoulder  shift  when  you  first  joined  the 
academy,  did  you?    The    company  ought  to 


EODNEY   KEEPS   HIS    PROMISE.  27 

give  me  that  place,  for  my  father  has  done  a 
heap  for  it  with  money  and  influence.  Some 
who  are  now  recruits  held  back  because  they 
were  not  able  to  fit  themselves  out  decently, 
but  father  told  them  that  the  want  of  money 
need  not  stand  in  their  way.  If  they  would 
go  ahead  and  enlist,  he  would  see  that  they 
had  horses,  weapons,  uniforms  and  everything 
else  they  wanted.  He  did  what  he  could  to 
promote  enlistments  instead  of  preaching  up 
the  doctrine  that  the  South  is  going  to  be 
whipped  and  the  slaves  all  made  free." 

Rodney  knew  well  enough  that  this  was  a 
slap  at  his  father,  but  he  didn't  see  how  he 
could  resent  it,  for  it  was  nothing  but  the 
truth. 

"That's  why  I  say  that  the  company  ought 
to  make  me  an  officer,"  continued  Randolph, 
after  a  short  pause.  "I  know  you  are  all 
right,  for  I  heard  how  you  stood  uj)  for  the 
Confederacy  while  you  were  at  school,  and  I'll 
tell  you  what  I'll  do  with  you :  If  you  will 
give  me  your  vote  for  second  lieutenant,  I'll 
do  what  I  can  to  have  you  elected  third  ser- 
geant.    The  other  x^laces  are  sjDoken  for.' 


5? 


28  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


"I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you,"  replied 
Rodney. 

''  Is  it  a  bargain?  " 

^'  ]^ot  much.  I'll  not  vote  for  a  man  to  be 
placed  over  me  unless  he  knows  more  than  I 
do." 

"Perhaps  you  want  a  commission  yourself," 
said  Randolph,  with  something  like  a  sneer. 

"  No,  I  don't.  I  never  thought  of  such  a 
thing." 

"  Because  if  you  do,  I  want  to  tell  you  that 
you  can't  get  it,"  continued  Randolph. 
"  Your  father  hasn't  done  half  as  much  for 
the  company  as  he  might  have  done,  and  the 
boy's  don't  like  the  way  he  talks." 

"Then  let's  seethe  boys  help  themselves," 
answered  Rodney,  as  he  placed  his  foot  in  the 
stirrup  and  swung  himself  into  the  saddle. 
"  Time  will  show  who  is  willing  to  do  the  most 
for  the  success  of  the  Confederacy,  your  father 


or  mine." 


So  saying  he  put  the  roan  colt  into  a  gallop 
and  set  out  for  home. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   EANGERS   ELECT   OFFICERS. 

WHEN  Rodney  had  left  the  village  of 
Mooreville  half  a  mile  or  so  behind  him, 
he  threw  the  reins  loose  upon  his  horse's  neck, 
thrust  his  hands  deep  into  his  pockets  and 
thought  over  the  conversation  he  had  had  with 
Tom  Randolph.  He  had  warned  his  cousin 
Marcy  that  the  North  Carolina  people  would 
be  sure  to  turn  the  cold  shoulder  upon  him  on 
account  of  his  Union  principles,  and  now  it 
seemed  to  Rodney  that  he  was  in  pretty  near 
the  same  predicament  because  his  father  be- 
lieved and  said  that  the  seven  seceding  States, 
with  two  and  a  half  millions  of  free  persons, 
could  not  whip  the  loyal  states  and  territories 
with  twenty-live  millions. 

"It  serves  me  just  right,"  was  Rodney's 
mental  reflection.  "I  persecuted  Marcy  on 
account  of  his  opinions,  and  now  I  am  going  to 
have  a  little  of  the  same   kind  of  treatment. 

29 


30  EODNEY,  THE  PAETISAN. 


'No  one  but  a  red-hot  secessionist  has  got  any 
business  in  this  part  of  the  country." 

When  Rodney  reached  home  he  found  his 
father  there  and  supper  waiting  for  him.  He 
did  not  mention  Tom  Randolph's  name,  but  he 
spent  a  good  deal  of  time  in  thinking  about 
him,  and  wondered  how  he  would  fare  if  Tom 
succeeded  in  winning  the  coveted  commission. 
There  were  many  ways  in  which  a  lieutenant 
could  torment  his  subordinates,  and  Tom 
would  be  just  mean  enough  to  use  all  the ' 
power  the  law  allowed  him. 

"  I'll  not  take  a  thing  to-morrow,  even  if  it 
is  offered  to  me,"  was  the  resolution  Rodney 
made  before  he  went  to  sleep  that  night.  "I'll 
go  out  as  a  private  and  come  back  as  a  private, 
unless  I  can  win  promotion  in  the  face  of  the 
enemy.  Time  makes  all  things  right,  and 
we'll  see  who  will  come  out  at  the  top  of  the 
heap — Tom  Randolph  or  I." 

The  next  morning  about  eight  o'clock,  Rod- 
ney seated  himself  in  the  carriage  with  his 
father  and  mother  and  was  driven  to  the  camp 
of  the  Rangers.  It  presented  more  of  a  holi- 
day appearance  now  than  it  did  the  first  time 


THE   I^ANGERS   ELECT   OFFICERS.  31 

he  saw  it,  for  it  had  been  cleaned  up  and  dec- 
orated in  honor  of  the  occasion.  The  little 
grove  in  which  the  tents  Avere  pitched  was 
thronged  with  visitors,  the  Rangers  Avere  out 
in  full  force  and  there  was  a  good  deal  of  "log- 
rolling" going  on.  All  the  candidates  had 
ballots  prepared,  and  Rodney  had  scarcely  set 
his  foot  on  the  ground  before  he  w^as  sur- 
rounded by  a  little  group  of  recruits,  all  of 
whom  were  anxious  to  serve  the  Confederacy 
in  the  capacity  of  officers. 

"  We've  got  you  down  for  third  sergeant," 
said  one.  "We've  arranged  to  push  you  for 
that  position  if  you  will  vote  for  me  for 
orderly  and  for  Randolph  for  second  lieu- 
tenant." 

"Find  out  who  the  other  candidates  are 
before  you  make  any  promises,"  exclaimed 
another ;  and  then,  when  no  one  was  observ- 
ing his  movements,  the  speaker  gave  Rodney 
a  wink  and  a  nod  which  the  latter  could  not 
fail  to  understand.  He  drew  off  on  one  side 
and  the  recruit,  whose  hands  were  full  of  bal- 
lots, went  on  to  sav  : 

"Randolph   doesn't  stand  the  ghost   of  a 


32  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


chance  for  the  second  lieutenancy,  and  he  has 
good  cheek  to  ask  the  boys  to  give  it  to  him. 
He  thinks  he  is  going  to  run  the  company 
because  his  father  has  done  so  much  for  it." 

''  And  he  thinks  he  and  his  friends  are  going 
to  keep  me  in  the  background  because  my 
father  has  done  so  little  for  it,"  added 
Hodney. 

"  Well,  they  can't  do  it,  and  they  will  find 
it  out  when  the  thing  is  put  to  the  test.  You 
have  a  military  education  and  Randolph 
hasn't.  That's  one  thing  against  him,  and  his 
overwhelming  self-conceit  is  another.  You 
are  rather  vouno;  to  look  for  a  commission  in  a 
company  of  men,  but  you  Avill  come  in  for  the 
orderly  sergeant's  berth  sure  as  shooting." 

*'I  am  obliged  to  those  who  suggested  me 
for  that  place,  but  Til  not  take  it,"  said  Rod- 
ney very  decidedly.  ^'I  enlisted  for  a  sol- 
dier." 

''Well,  what  in  the  name  of  sense  do  you 
call  the  orderly  ? ' ' 

"  I  call  him  a  clerk,"  answered  Rodney. 

"  Why,  I  thought  he  was  drill-master. 

"  Of  awkward  squads — yes.' 


ii-iiiiiSLcr. 

?5 


THE   RANGERS   ELECT   OFFICERS.  33 

"Then  can't  you  see  that  that  is  another 
reason  why  we  need  you  in  that  berth  ?  We 
all  belong  to  the  awkward  squad  now.  You'll 
have  to  take  it.  We  need  a  drill-master,  and 
must  have  some  one  who  knows  enough  to 
keep  the  company's  books  ;  and  that's  more 
than  that  friend  of  Randolph's  can  do.  I 
want  nothing  for  myself,  for  I  am  not  a  mili- 
tary man.  Hubbard  will  come  in  for  captain 
without  opposition.  It's  the  place  he  ought 
to  have,  for  he  has  done  more  for  us  than  any- 
body else,  and  Odell  and  Percy  will  be  the 
lieutenants.  Put  those  in  the  box  when  the 
time  comes." 

Rodney  took  the  ballots  that  were  placed  in 
his  hand,  and  just  then  some  one  called  out : 

' '  Oh  yes,  oh  yes,  oh  yes  !  All  you  Rangers 
fall  in  in  single  rank  here  in  front  of  head- 
quarters, and  be  ready  to  cast  your  votes  for 
captain." 

Rodney  laughed  heartily. 

"  That's  the  deputy  sheriff,"  said  the  recruit 
with  whom  he  had  been  conversing,  as  the  two 
hastened  toward  the  captain's  tent.  "There 
isn't  much  military  about  that  order." 


34  RODJS^EY,  THE   PARTISAIST. 


(( 


It'll  do,"  replied  Rodney.  "The  boys 
seem  to  understand  it,  and  what  more  do  you 
want?" 

"  JN'ow  answer  to  your  names,"  continued 
the  deputy ;  whereupon  Rodney  laughed 
again. 

*' What  ought  he  to  have  said?  "  inquired 
his  friend. 

"Listen  to  roll-call,  Avould  be  the  proper 
order,"  said  the  Barrington  boy.  "But  it's 
all  right.  Guerillas  are  not  supposed  to  be 
posted  in  such  things." 

"  But  we  are  not  guerillas.' 

"  Look  in  your  dictionary  and  you  Avill  find 
that  you  can't  make  us  out  to  be  anything 
else,"  replied  Rodney. 

The  two  fell  in  side  by  side  and  answered  to 
their  names  when  they  were  called.  The  Bar- 
rington boy  supposed  that  nominations  would 
now  be  in  order,  but  it  seemed  that  they  had 
already  been  made  from  captain  down  to 
fourth  corporal.  The  Rangers  were  faced  to 
the  right  and  ordered  to  march  up  one  at  a 
time  and  deposit  their  votes  for  captain  in  the 
ballot-box  (a  cigar  box  with  a  slot  in  the  cover), 


THE  RATs^GERS   ELECT   OFFICERS.  35 

beside  wliicli  stood  the  three  "inspectors  of 
election"  who  were  to  count  the  votes  after 
they  were  all  in,  and  who  had  been  chosen 
before  Rodney  arrived  on  the  ground.  When 
tlie  balloting  was  comj^leted  the  company  had 
countermarched  twice,  and  stood  on  the  same 
ground  it  occui)ied  before  the  ceremony  began. 
One  of  the  inspectors  emptied  the  contents  of 
the  cigar  box  on  the  table,  another  opened  the 
first  ballot  that  came  to  his  hand  and  called 
out  the  name  that  was  written  upon  it,  and 
the  third  kept  count.  The  result  was  just  what 
Rodney's  friend  told  him  it  would  be. 

"There  were  sixty-five  votes  cast,  and  they 
one  and  all  bear  the  name  of  our  popular 
friend  Robert  Hubbard,"  said  the  inspector  ; 
and  the  announcement  was  received  with 
cheers. 

Speech  !  Speech  ! ' '  shouted  the  Rangers. 
jS'o,  no!"  replied  the  newly  elected  cap- 
tain, "There  are  two  lieutenants,  one  orderly 
sergeant,  five  duty  sergeants  and  four  corporals 
yet  to  be  elected,  and  we  don't  want  to  waste 
anv  time  in  foolishness." 

' '  Have  you  got  your  ballots  ready  for  first 


36  RODNEY,    THE  PARTISAN. 


lieutenant?"  inquired  tlie  deputy  sheriff, 
who  continued  to  act  as  master  of  ceremonies. 
"  Then  face  to  the  right  again  and  march  your- 
selves around  here  and  put  'em  in  the  box. 
Laugh  away,  Eodney,"  he  added,  smiling 
good-naturedly  and  shaking  his  head  at  the 
Barrington  boy.  "We'll  get  the  hang  of 
these  things  after  a  while." 

The  voting  was  gone  through  with  the  same 
as  before,  and  there  was  more  cheering  and 
clapping  of  hands  when  the  inspector  an- 
nounced that  Hiram  Odell  had  been  unani- 
mously elected  to  the  office  of  first  lieutenant ; 
but  following  the  exam^^le  of  his  superior  he 
declined  to  waste  time  in  speech-making. 

And  now  Rodney  Gray  began  to  take  a 
deeper  interest  in  Avhat  was  going  on.  The 
second  lieutenant  would  be  voted  for  next, 
and  Tom  Randolph,  whose  father  had  done 
so  much  for  the  company,  had  had  the 
imx3udence  to  bring  himself  forward  as  a  can- 
didate. It  couldn't  be  possible,  Rodney 
thought,  that  such  an  ignorant  upstart  stood 
any  chance  of  election  when  his  opponent  was 
so  popular  a  young  man  as  Albert  Percy.     He 


THE   RANGERS   ELECT   OFFICERS.  37 

stood  where  lie  could  see  Tom' s  face,  and  there 
was  not  a  jDarticle  of  color  in  it.  If  he  could 
have  looked  into  the  ballot  Tom  held  in  his 
hand,  he  Avould  have  found  that  the  name 
written  upon  it  w^as  that  of  Thomas  Randolph 
himself.  The  candidate  intended  to  vote  in 
his  own  favor  and  he  did  ;  but  it  did  not  bring 
him  the  coveted  office.  When  the  result  was 
announced  he  had  just  twelve  votes.  All  the 
others  were  cast  for  Albert  Percy.  Then 
there  was  more  cheering,  but  Tom  didn't  join 
in  ;  and  neither  did  he  shout  out  a  respon- 
sive "Aye"  wdien  it  was  x3roposed  that  the 
election  be  declared  unanimous.  On  the  con- 
trary he  looked  daggers  at  every  man  in  the 
ranks  Avhose  eye  he  could  reach  ;  and  he  could 
reach  more  than  half  of  them,  for  the  line  was 
almost  as  crooked  as  a  rail  fence. 

"That's  a  pretty  way  for  them  to  treat  me 
after  all  the  exertions  my  father  has  made  and 
the  money  he  has  promised  to  spend  for  the 
company,"  said  Tom  to  the  sympathizing 
friend  who  stood  next  on  the  right.  ' '  I  believe 
I'll  haul  out." 

"Don't  do  it,"  was  the  reply.     "Stay  in 


38  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


and  help  beat  the  rest  of  that  ticket.  It's  all 
cut  and  dried." 

"Of  course  it  is  and  has  been  for  some  time. 
I  could  see  it  now  if  I  had  only  half  an  eye  ; 
but  they  have  been  so  sly  about  it  that  I  never 
susi)ected  it  before.  Slip  out  of  the  line  and 
tell  everybody  who  voted  for  me  to  vote 
against  Gray,  no  matter  what  they  put  him  up 
for.  We'll  show  them  that  they  don't  run  the 
company." 

"Have  you  got  your  votes  ready  for  orderly 
sergeant  V  inquired  the  deputy. 

"I'd  like  to  say  a  word  before  the  vote  is 
taken,"  said  Captain  Hubbard,  without  giving 
any  one  time  to  answer  the  sheriff' s  question, 
"and  that  is,  that  the  office  of  orderly  sergeant 
is  one  of  the  most  important  in  the  company." 

"I  wonder  how  he  happens  to  know  so 
much,"  whispered  Tom  Randolph  to  the 
Ranger  who  touched  elbows  with  him  on  the 
right ;  and  in  a  minute  more  he  found  out. 

"Ever  since  I  began  taking  an  active  part 
in  getting  up  this  company,"  continued  the 
captain,  "I  have  been  in  correspondence  with 
a  military  friend  who  has  taken  pains  to  post 


THE  KANGEKS   ELECT   OFEICERS.  39 

me  on  some  matters  that  are  not  touched  npon 
in  the  tactics.  Among  other  things  he  warned 
me  that  if  we  intend  to  do  business  in  military- 
form,  Ave  must  be  careful  whom  we  select  for 
the  office  of  orderly.  He  ought  to  be  a  thor- 
ough-going soldier — " 

"Gray,  Gray!  Sergeant  Rodney  Gray!" 
yelled  a  score  of  voices. 

"Very  well,  gentlemen,"  said  the  captain, 
who  looked  both  surprised  and  pleased.  "If 
he  is  your  choice  I  have  nothing  to  say  beyond 
this :  I  shall  be  more  than  satisfied  with  his 
election." 

"Randolph,  Randolph!"  shouted  Tom's 
friends,  believing  that  if  he  could  not  get  one 
office  he  might  be  willing  to  take  another  ;  but 
it  turned  out  that  their  candidate  was  not  that 
sort  of  fellow. 

"I  don't  want  it,  and  what's  more  to  the 
point,  I  wont  accept  it,"  said  he,  wrathfully. 
"  If  any  one  votes  for  me  he  will  only  be  wast- 
ing his  ballot,  for  I  am  going  to  leave  the 
company.  Do  you  suppose  I  am  such  a  fool 
as  to  allow  myself  to  be  set  up  and  bowled 
over  by  Rodney  Gray  ? "  he  added  in  an  under- 


40  EODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

tone,  in  response  to  a  mild  protest  from  his 
friend  on  the  right.  ''  His  supporters  are  in 
the  majority  and  no  one  else  need  look  for  a 
show." 

Everybody  was  surprised  to  hear  this  declar- 
ation from  the  lips  of  one  who  had  thus  far 
taken  the  deepest  interest  in  the  organization 
and  done  all  in  his  power  to  help  it  along,  and 
several  of  the  Kangers  leaned  forward  to  get  a 
glimjjse  of  the  ^^eaker's  face  to  see  if  he  really 
meant  what  he  said.  Kodney  glanced  toward 
the  captain  to  see  how  he  took  it,  and  learned 
what  it  was  that  induced  the  defeated  candi- 
date to  take  this  stand.  Leaning  upon  his 
cane  just  inside  the  door  of  the  captain's  tent 
was  Mr.  Randolph,  whose  face  was  fully  as 
black  as  Tom's,  and  who  nodded  approvingly 
at  every  word  the  angry  young  man  uttered. 

''I  haven't  been  sworn  in  yet,  and  am  as 
free  to  go  and  come  as  I  was  a  month  ago," 
declared  Tom. 

"For  the  matter  of  that,  so  are  we  all," 
answered  the  captain,  who  had  known  a  week 
beforehand  that  young  Randolj)h  was  sure  to 
be  defeated,  and  that  he  would  take  it  very 


THE   RAN^GERS   ELECT   OFFICERS.  41 

much  to  heart.  "But  I  considered  myself 
bound  from  the  time  I  put  my  name  to  this 
muster-roll.  We  can't  be  sworn  in  except  by 
a  State  officer,  for  the  minute  we  consent  to 
that,  that  minute  we  give  up  our  freedom  and 
render  ourselves  liable  to  be  ordered  to  the 
remotest  point  in  the  Confederacy.  We  are 
partisans,  and  never  will  surrender  our  right 
to  do  as  w^e  please." 

Captain  Hubbard  and  his  comx)any  of  Rang- 
ers were  not  the  only  dupes  there  were  in  the 
Confederacy  at  that  moment.  It  was  well 
known  that  the  new  government  ^vas  in  full 
sympathy  with  partisan  organizations  ;  and  its 
agents  industriously  circulated  the  report  that 
it  would  not  only  aid  in  the  formation  of  such 
organizations,  but  would  allow  them  full  lib- 
erty of  action  after  they  Avere  sw^orn  into  the 
service  of  their  State.  The  government  knew 
the  temper  of  the  Southern  people,  and  was 
w^ell  aware  that  the  desire  to  emulate  the 
example  of  such  heroes  as  Marion  w^ould  draw 
into  the  service  many  a  dashing  youngster 
who  might  otherwise  stay  out  of  it.  What 
could  be  more    alluring  to  a  hot-head   like 


42  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


Rodney  Gray  than  the  wild,  free,  and  glorious 
life  which  the  simple  word  "partisan"  con- 
jured uj)?  The  ruse,  for  that's  just  what  it 
was,  proved  successful.  Partisan  companies 
sprung  into  existence  all  over  the  South,  but 
in  less  than  twelve  months  after  the  war  began 
there  was  not  one  of  them  in  the  service. 
]S"either  were  there  any  such  things  as  State 
troops. 

When  Morgan  and  Forrest  were  first  heard 
of  they  were  known  and  acknowledged  as 
X)artisans ;  and  the  former  carried  his  parti- 
sanship so  far  that  when  General  Buckner 
declined  to  give  him  permission  to  act  upon 
his  own  responsibility,  he  took  possession  of 
a  deserted  house,  went  into  camp  there,  and 
supported  his  men  out  of  his  own  pocket ;  but 
before  the  war  closed  both  he  and  Forrest 
were  Confederate  generals,  and  their  men 
were  regularly  sworn  into  the  Confederate 
service. 

We  said  that  the  State  troo^^s  also  had  ceased 
to  exist,  and  the  following  incident  proves  it : 
When  the  Governor  of  Arkansas  called  upon 
his  troops,  w^ho  were  serving  in  the  Army  of  the 


THE  RAI^GERS   ELECT   OFFICERS.  43 

Center,  to  come  home  at  once  and  save  their 
State  from  threatened  invasion,  General  Beau- 
regard ought  to  have  permitted  them  to  obey 
the  summons.  He  could  not  do  otherwise  and 
be  consistent,  for  if  the  eleven  rebellious 
States  made  the  Confederacy,  they  surely  had 
the  right  to  unmake  it.  But  did  he  live  up  to 
the  principles  for  which  he  w^as  fighting  ?  On 
the  contrary  he  surrounded  those  Arkansas 
troops  with  a  wall  of  gleaming  baj^onets  backed 
by  frowning  batteries,  and  gave  them  just  Hve 
minutes  to  make  up  their  minds  whether  or 
not  they  would  return  to  duty.  The  govern- 
ment at  Richmond  was  a  despotism  of  the  worst 
sort,  as  more  than  one  poor,  deluded  rebel 
found  to  his  sorrow ;  and  yet  Jefferson  Davis 
and  the  rest  of  them  stoutly  maintained  that 
they  w^ere  fighting  for  the  right  of  the  States 
to  do  as  they  pleased. 

"I  don't  consider  myself  bound  to  stay  in 
the  company  for  no  other  reason  than  because 
my  name  is  on  that  muster-roll,"  said  Ran- 
dolph. 

"Stick  to  it  and  we'll  back  you  up,"  whis- 
pered the  recruit  on  Tom's  right. 


44  EODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

"If  I  drop  out  of  the  ranks  will  you  come 
tooT'  whispered  Randolph,  in  reply. 

"  I  will,  and  so  will  all  the  rest." 

Being  thus  encouraged  Randoli^h  stepped 
out  of  the  line  and  walked  off  toward  his 
father's  carriage,  to  which  his  indignant  mother 
had  already  beat  a  dignified  retreat.  When  he 
had  gone  a  little  distance  he  looked  behind 
him  and  saw,  with  no  little  satisfaction,  that 
he  was  followed  by  eleven  others  who  were 
displeased  by  the  way  the  election  was  going. 

They  were  the  ones  who  had  been  urged  into 
the  company  by  Mr.  Randolph,  who  had 
promised  to  see  them  well  fitted  out  with 
horses  and  weapons,  and  of  course  they  felt 
bound  to  follow  the  example  of  his  son.  There 
were  those  who  believed  that  Mr.  Randolph 
would  not  have  taken  so  much  interest  in  the 
company  if  he  had  not  believed  that  every 
recruit  he  brought  into  it  would  cast  a  vote  for 
Tom. 

Here  was  a  pretty  state  of  affairs,  thought 
Captain  Hubbard,  who  looked  troubled  rather 
than  vexed.  He  did  not  care  so  much  for  the 
desertion  of  young  Randolph  and  his  friends 


THE   RANGERS   ELECT   OFFICERS.  45 

(although  the  unexpected  withdrawal  of  twelve 
men  from  his  command  was  no  small  matter), 
but  he  did  care  for  the  spirit  that  prom xd ted 
their  action.  It  was  a  rule  or  ruin  policy  he 
did  not  like  to  see  manifested  at  that  juncture. 
He  was  well  enough  acquainted  with  Kandoli^h 
to  know  that  he  w^ould  not  be  satisfied  with 
simplj^  deserting  the  company,  but  would  try 
in  all  ways  to  be  revenged  upon  every  member 
of  it  who  had  voted  against  him.  While  the 
captain  was  thinking  about  it,  somebody  tried 
to  make  matters  worse  by  setting  up  a  loud 
hiss,  and  in  an  instant  the  sound  was  carried 
along  the  whole  length  of  the  line.  It  wasn'  t 
stopped,  either,  until  Rodney  Gray  stepped  to 
the  front. 

^'Mr.  Commander,"  said  he,  raising  his 
hand  to  his  cap  with  a  military  flourish,  *'I 
don't  want  this  position.  The  officers  already 
chosen  have  been  fairly  elected,  but  I'll  vote 
for  Randolph  for  the  next  highest  office  in  the 
gift  of  the  company,  if  he  can  be  induced  to 
come  back." 

"Haven't  you  heard  him  say  that  he  don't 
want  it  and  wont  take  it?"  replied  the  cap- 


46  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAIS^. 

tain.  "I  think  the  Rangers  know  what  they 
are  doing.     Proceed  with  the  election." 

"But,  Captain,  I  don't  want  to  be  a  clerk," 
protested  Rodney.  "I  want  to  be  a  soldier. 
Aside  from  his  writing,  the  orderly  has  little 
to  do  but  loaf  about  camp  all  the  while,  keep- 
ing an  eye  on  the  company  property,  signing 
requisitions  and  drilling  awkward  squads,  and 
that's  a  job  I  don't  want.  What's  more,  with- 
out any  intention  of  being  disrespectful,  I'll 
not  take  it.  There  must  be  some  here  wdio 
want  it,  and  who  can  do  that  sort  of  work  as 
well,  if  not  better  than  I  can.  If  you  think 
you  must  put  me  in  for  something,  let  me  be  a 
duty  sergeant,  so  that  I  will  have  a  chance  to 
go  on  a  scout  now  and  then." 

So  saying  the  Barrington  boy  made  another 
flourish  with  his  hand  and  stepped  back  to  his 
place  in  the  ranks  with  military  precision. 

''Now,  Rodney,  take  that  back,"  said  Lieu- 
tenant Percy,  with  most  unbecoming  famili- 
arity. "  You  are  the  only  militar}^  man  in  the 
company,  and  I  don't  see  how  we  can  get  along 
without  you." 

"I'll    tell     you    what    I'll    do,    Rodney," 


THE   EAISTGERS   ELECT   OFFICERS.  47 

cliimed  in  Captain  Hubbard.  "  You  take  tlie 
position,  and  I  will  promise  that  you  shall  go 
out  on  a  scout  as  often  as  you  please." 

The  Barrington  boy's  face  relaxed  into  a 
broad  grin. 

"Captain,"  said  he,  "what  sort  of  an 
organization  is  this  anyway — a  mob  or  a  mili- 
tary company? " 

"  Now,  what  is  the  use  of  your  asking  such 
a  question  as  that  ? ' '  demanded  the  captain, 
rather  sharply. 

"Well,  then,  if  it  is  a  military  company,  I 
suppose  you  intend  to  be  governed  by  military 
rules,  do  you  not  ?  " 

' '  Of  course  we  do,  if  we  have  brains  enough 
to  find  out  what  those  rules  are." 

"I  have  no  fears  on  that  score;  and  when 
you  find  out  what  those  rules  are,  you  will  see 
that  you  have  no  business  to  let  me  go  out  on 
a  scout  as  often  as  I  please." 

"  What's  the  reason  I  haven't  ?  "  exclaimed 
the  caj)tain.  "I  command  the  company, 
don't  I?" 

"  You  certainly  do." 

"And  haven't  I  a  right  to  do  as  I  please  1 " 


48  kod:n^ey,  the  paetisan. 

'^Tliat  depends  upon  circumstances.  Do 
you  intend  to  remain  right  here  about  home  ? " 

"Not  by  a  jugful.  We're  going  to  belong 
to  some  part  of  the  army,  if  we  have  to  go  clear 
up  to  Missouri  to  find  a  commander  who  will 
take  us." 

"Then  you  will  find  that  you  can't  do  as 
you  i^lease.  The  minute  that  commander 
accepts  you,  he  will  swear  you  and  all  of  us 
into  the  service." 

"  After  we  have  been  sworn  into  the  service 
of  the  State?" 

"Certainly." 

"  I  don't  believe  it,"  said  Captain  Hubbard, 
bluntly.  ^'He  wouldn't  have  any  right  to 
do  it." 

The  boy's  words  raised  a  chorus  of  dissent 
all  along  the  line,  and  Lieutenant  Odell  said, 
as  soon  as  he  could  make  himself  heard  : 

"You  are  way  off  the  track,  Eodney. 
What  did  we  secede  for  if  it  wasn't  to  prove 
the  doctrine  of  State  Rights  ?  If  we  are  going 
to  give  our  liberty  up  to  a  new  government,  we 
might  as  well  have  stayed  under  the  old. "  And 
all  the  Rangers  uttered  a  hearty  "That's  so." 


THE   BANGERS   ELECT   OFFICERS.  49 

*' You'll  see,'-  replied  Rodney,  who  was 
greatly  amused  by  the  look  of  astonishment 
his  words  had  brought  to  the  faces  around 
him.  "A  general  would  look  pretty  accept- 
ing the  services  of  a  company  he  couldn't 
command,  wouldn'  t  he,  now  ? ' ' 

*'But  he  could  command  us,"  said  every- 
body in  the  line  ;  and  Captain  Hubbard  added: 
'Td  promise  that  we  would  obey  him  as 
promptly  and  readily  as  any  of  his  regular 
troops." 

"But  that  wouldn't  satisfy  him.  He'd 
want  the  power  to  make  us  obey  him,  or  we 
might  take  it  into  our  heads  to  leave  him 
when  things  didn't  go  to  suit,  just  as  Ran- 
dolph and  his  friends  have  left  us.  If  we 
should  try  any  little  game  like  that  in  the 
face  of  the  enemy,  he  might  have  the  last  one 
of  us  shot." 

"What  do  you  think  of  the  prospect, 
boys  ?"  said  the  captain,  pulling  out  his  hand- 
kerchief and  mopping  his  face  with  it.  He 
was  all  in  the  dark  and  wanted  somebody  to 
suggest  something. 

"Look    here,    Rodney,"    said    Lieutenant 


50  KODXEY,  THE   PAETISAN. 

Percy.  *'  If  you  knew  our  company  was  to  go 
up  in  smoke  what  did  you  join  it  for  ?  " 

"I  don't  believe  it  is  going  up  in  smoke," 
was  tlie  reply.  "I  certainly  hope  it  isn't,  fori 
am  under  promise  to  go  into  the  service,  and 
would  rather  go  with  my  friends  and  neigh- 
bors than  with  strangers  ;  but  if  we  are  going 
to  bear  arms,  Ave've  got  to  have  authority  from 
somebody  to  do  it." 

"Why,  we'll  get  that  from  the  State  of 
Louisiana,"  exclaimed  the  Rangers,  almost  as 
one  man.  "  The  State  is  supreme,  no  one  out- 
side of  it  has  a  right  to  command  our  services, 
and  State  Rights  Avill  be  our  battle-cry,  if  we 
need  one." 

"All  right,"  exclaimed  Rodney.  "I  am 
here  to  share  the  fortunes  of  the  company, 
whatever  they  may  be,  but  I  can't  take  the 
position  you  have  so  kindly  offered  me,  and  I 
beg  you  will  not  urge  me  further.  Give  it  to 
some  one  who  wants  it,  and  I  will  do  all  I  can 
to  help  him." 

"Wei],  that's  different,"  said  the  caj)tain, 
who  seemed  to  be  much  relieved.  "Fallout 
and  prepare  your  ballots  ;  and  you  had  better 


THE   RAXGERS   ELECT   OFFICERS.  51 

fix  'em  all  up  while  you  are  about  it,  so  that 
there  may  be  no  further  delay." 

The  order  to  "  fall  out"  was  quite  unneces- 
sary, for  the  ranks  were  pretty  well  broken 
before  the  captain  gave  it.  He  allowed  them 
half  an  hour  in  which  to  write  out  their  ballots, 
and  then  the  line  was  reformed,  after  a  fashion, 
and  the  voting  went  on  ;  and  although  the 
results  were  in  the  main  satisfactory,  there 
were  some  long  faces  among  the  E-angers. 

"  ^ever  mind,"  said  Rodney,  who  had  been 
elected  first  duty  sergeant.  "You  outsiders 
may  have  a  chance  yet.  I'll  bet  a  picayune 
that  if  this  company  sees  any  service  at  all,  it 
will  not  be  mustered  out  with  the  same  officers 
it  has  now.  Bone  your  tactics  night  and  day, 
and  then  if  there  is  an  examination,  you  will 
stand  as  good  a  chance  as  anybody.  Captain, 
who  is  going  to  commission  you  \  " 

"  I  have  been  commissioned  already  ;  that  is 
to  say,  I  have  been  authorized  by  the  governor 
to  raise  a  company  of  independent  cavalry  to 
be  mustered  into  the  State  service.  That  is  all 
right,  isn't  it?" 

"  I  suppose  it  is,"  replied  the  boy  ;  and  then 


63  RODNEY,  THE  PAETISAN. 

he  walked  off  to  find  his  father,  thoughtfully 
pulling  his  under  lip  as  he  went. 

*' What's  the  matter?  "  inquired  Mr.  Gray, 
as  his  son  approached  the  place  where  he  was 
standing.  "  Wasn't  the  election  satisfactory  ? 
I  thought  the  best  men  were  chosen." 

"  I  wasn't  thinking  about  that,"  was  the 
answer.  ''  If  we  are  mustered  into  the  service 
of  the  State,  we  must  of  course  be  sworn  in. 
This  State  is  a  part  of  the  Confederacy  ;  and  if 
the  Confederacy  calls  upon  Louisiana  for 
troops — then  what  ? " 

''Why,  then  you  would  have  to  go,  I 
reckon,"  replied  one  of  the  planters  who  was 
talking  with  his  father. 

"  Yes,  I  reckon  we  would  ;  and  we'd  have  to 
take  the  oath  to  support  the  Confederacy,  and 
that  would  take  us  out  from  under  the  control 
of  the  State  and  make  us  Confederate  troops, 
wouldn't  it  ?  It's  a  sort  of  mixed-up  mess  and 
I  don't  see  where  our  independence  comes  in. 
But  the  boys  seem  to  think  it  is  all  right  and 
I  suppose  it  is." 

But  it  wasn't  all  right,  and  the  sequel 
proved  it. 


CHAPTER  III. 

DRILLS   AND   PARADES. 

WHEN  the  Rangers  had  broken  ranks, 
which  they  did  without  orders  as  soon 
as  the  fourth  corporal  had  been  elected,  the 
captain  and  his  lieutenants  suddenly  thought 
of  something  and  posted  off  to  find  Rodney 
Gray. 

''Look  here,"  said  the  former,  somewhat 
nervously.  "What's  the  next  thing  on  the 
programme?" 

''Drill,  guard-mount  and  all  that  sort  of 
thing  ;  but  principally  drill,"  answered  Rod- 
ney. "  If  I  were  in  your  place  I  would  send 
for  a  copy  of  the  army  regulations  without 
loss  of  time." 

"Where'lllget  them?" 

"  Write  to  the  commanding  officer  at  New 
Orleans,  and  the  minute  they  get  here,  turn 
this  camp  into  a  camp  of  instruction  with 
written  regulations,  so  that  every  member  of 

53 


54  KODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

tlie  company  may  know  what  is  required  of 
him — reveille  at  five  a.m.,  brealvfast  at  six, 
sick-call  at  seven,  inspection  of  company 
parade  grounds  at  eight,  squad  drill  at  half 
past,  and — " 

"Hold  on,"  exclaimed  Lieutenant  Percy. 
''You  win  have  to  put  that  in  writing.  I 
never  could  remember  it  in  the  world." 

''You  11  have  to,  and  a  good  deal  more  like 
it,"  replied  the  Barrington  boy.  "It's  noth- 
ing to  what  I  had  to  keep  constantly  in  mind 
while  I  was  at  school.  I  had  to  walk  a  chalk- 
mark,  I  tell  you,  or  I'd  have  lost  my  cJiemonsy 

"  I  suppose  the  hardest  part  of  the  work 
will  be  training  our  horses,"  observed  Lieu- 
tenant Odell.     "  Mine  is  pretty  wild." 

"No  matter  for  that  if  he  is  only  intelli- 
gent. He'll  learn  the  drill  in  less  time  than 
you  will,  I'll  bet  you.  But  we'll  not  need  our 
horses  for  a  month  to  come." 

"What's  the  reason  we  wont?  We're 
cavalry." 

"  I  know  it ;  but  how  are  you  going  to  teach 
your  horses  the  movements  unless  you  knoAV 
them  yourselves  ?     Suppose  we  were  in  line  in 


DKILLS   AND   PARADES.  55 

two  ranks  and.  the  command  was  given 
"Without  doubling,  right  face."  The  horses 
don't  know  Avhere  to  go  but  their  riders  must, 
in  order  to  rein  the  animals  in  their  j)laces. 
See  ?  Oh,  there's  more  work  than  fun  in 
soldiering." 

"Well  now,  look  here,"  said  the  captain 
again.  "I  don't  want  to  take  the  boys  away 
from  home  and  shut  them  up  here  for  nothing, 
and  yet  I  don't  want  to  waste*  any  valuable 
time,  for  we  may  be  called  upon  before  we 
know  it.  Will  you  drill  a  volunteer  squad 
here  every  forenoon  V\ 

"I  will,  and  be  glad  to  do  it.  I  hope  they 
will  turn  out  strong,  for  you  will  find  that  the 
workers  are  the  men  that  make  the  soldiers. 
I  am  glad  we've  got  a  drum  and  fife.  You 
don't  know  how  hard  it  would  be  for  me  to 
drill  a  large  squad  w^ithout  some  kind  of  music 
to  help  them  keep  step." 

And  so  it  was  settled  that  Camp  Randolph 
(it  had  been  named  after  Tom's  father  w^hen 
the  Confederate  flag  w^as  first  run  up  to  the 
masthead,  and  sorry  enough  the  Rangers  were 
for  it  now^),  was  to  become  a  camp  of  instruc- 


56  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

tion,  and  that  Sergeant  Gray  was  to  drill  a 
volunteer  squad  every  pleasant  forenoon,  and 
spend  two  hours  every  afternoon  in  teaching 
the  company  officers  their  duties. 

The  young  soldier  had  undertaken  a  big 
contract,  but  he  went  about  it  as  though  he 
meant  business,  and  in  less  than  a  week  suc- 
ceeded in  convincing  some  of  the  members  of 
his  company  that  he  was  just  a  trifle  too  par- 
ticular to  be  of  any  use.  The  strict  discipline 
in  vogue  at  Barrington  was  promptly  intro- 
duced at  Camp  Randolph,  and  not  the  slight- 
est departure  from  the  tactics  was  tolerated 
for  an  instant.  It  made  the  spectators  smile 
to  see  full-grown  men  ordered  about  by  this 
imperious  youngster  who  was  not  yet  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  and  the  sight  aroused  the 
ire  of  Tom  Randolph,  who  now  and  then  rode 
out  to  the  camp  to  watch  the  drill  and  criticise 
the  drill-master.  He  wanted  to  learn  some- 
thing too,  for  Tom  had  an  idea  that  he  might 
one  day  have  a  company  of  his  own.  His 
father  suggested  it  to  him,  and  Tom  lost  no 
time  in  talking  it  up  among  his  friends.  To 
his  great  disgust  Tom  had  learned  that  some 


DRILLS    AND   PARADES.  57 

of  these  friends  were  getting  "shaky.''  As 
time  wore  on  and  the  Rangers  began  to  show 
proficiency  under  the  severe  drilling  to  which 
they  were  daily  subjected,  these  friends  began 
to  think  and  say  that  they  were  afraid  they 
had  been  a  little  too  hasty  in  withdrawing 
from  the  company  just  because  Tom  Randolph 
could  not  get  the  office  he  wanted,  and  the 
first  mounted  drill  that  was  held  confirmed 
them  in  the  opinion.  Due  notice  had  been 
given  of  the  drill,  and  the  whole  town  and  all 
the  planters  for  miles  around,  turned  out  to 
see  it.  Of  course  the  horses  were  green  but 
tlieir  riders  understood  their  business  as  well 
as  could  be  expected,  and  the  spectators,  one 
and  all,  declared  that  it  was  a  very  creditable 
showing. 

We  do  not,  of  course,  mean  to  say  that  Ran- 
dolph and  his  father  and  mother  and  a  few 
other  dissatisfied  ones  were  pleased  with  the 
drill.  They  were  rather  disappointed  to  find 
that  the  Rangers  could  do  so  well  without  the 
aid  of  the  twelve  deserters.  They  came  to 
witness  it  because  their  neighbors  came,  one  of 
them,  at  least,  being  animated  by  the  hope 


58  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

that  the  spirited  horses  would  become  so  res- 
tive when  they  heard  the  rattle  of  the  drum 
and  the  shrill  scream  of  the  fife,  that  their 
riders  could  not  keej)  them  in  line.  It  was  a 
matter  of  difficulty,  that's  a  fact  ;  but  the 
Kangers  were  all  good  riders,  and  if  Randolph 
hoped  to  see  any  of  them  thrown  from  his 
saddle,  his  amiable  wish  was  not  gratified. 
Another  thing  that  disgusted  Tom  was  the 
fact  that  Sergeant  Gray  commanded  the  drill, 
the  commissioned  officers  riding  in  the  ranks 
like  so  many  privates.  The  file-closers,  of 
course,  occupied  their  proper  places. 

''If  I  could  afford  to  bu}^  a  horse  I  would 
join  the  company  within  an  hour,  if  they 
w^ould  take  me,"  said  one  of  the  eleven  who 
had  seen  fit  to  withdraw  from  the  Rangers 
when  Tom  did.  "I  cut  off  my  nose  to  spite 
my  face,  and  so  did  all  of  us  wdio  got  our 
backs  up  because  we  couldn't  have  things  our 
own  wa}^  But  I  dout  supi^ose  they  would 
take  us  back  now." 

"  Would  you  be  willing  to  have  such  a  fel- 
low as  Rodney  Gray  order  you  around  as  he 
does  the  rest  of  them  !  "  demanded  Tom. 


DRILLS   AND   PARADES.  59 

^'  Why,  I  don't  see  what's  the  matter  with 
Rodney  Gray.  I  never  heard  the  first  word 
said  against  him  until  you  took  it  into  your 
head  that  he  was  going  to  run  against  you  for 
second  lieutenant.  Yes  ;  I'd  Jet  him  or  any- 
body else  boss  me  around  if  he  would  only 
teach  me  how  to  drill.  He's  a  nobby  soldier, 
aint  he?" 

' '  Nobby  nothing, ' '  snarled  Randolph.  ' '  I'll 
bet  you  our  company  will  drill  just  as  well  as 
they  do." 

Our  company? " 

Yes.  You  don't  imagine  that  the  Rangers 
are  the  only  ones  who  will  go  into  the  service 
from  this  i^lace,  do  you  ?  It  would  not  be 
policy  for  the  State  to  send  all  her  best  men 
into  the  Confederate  army,"  said  Tom,  quot- 
ing from  his  father  ;  for  although  he  had  been 
a  voter  for  more  than  three  years  he  seldom 
read  the  papers,  and  depended  upon  others  to 
keep  him  posted  in  the  events  of  the  day. 
"Some  of  us  can't  go.  Father  says  the  Yan- 
kees will  fio;ht  if  thev  are  crowded  too  hard, 
and  if  they  should  happen  to  come  down  the 
river  from  Cairo,  or  up  the  river  from  New 


it 


60  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

Orleans,  wouldn'  t  the  capital  of  our  State  be  in 
a  pretty  fix  if  there  were  no  troops  here  to 
defend  it?" 

*'Aw!  they  aint  a-going  to  come  up  or 
down,"  exclaimed  the  other,  who  was  too  good 
a  rebel  to  believe  that  Union  troops  could  by 
any  possibility  gain  a  foothold  in  the  seceded 
States.  ''The  fighting  must  all  be  done  on 
Northern  soil.'  That's  what  our  President 
said,  and  I  reckon  he  knows  what  he  was  talk- 
ing about." 

'*  Perhaps  he  don't.  Fortune  of  war,  you 
know,"  said  Randolph,  who,  ever  since  his 
father  suggested  the  idea,  had  kept  telling 
himself  that  nothing  would  suit  him  better 
than  to  be  captain  of  a  company  of  finely  uni- 
formed and  mounted  State  Guards.  "  At  any 
rate  we  are  going  to  prepare  for  what  may 
happen.  We  are  going  to  get  up  a  company, 
and  my  father  will  equip  every  one  who  joins 
it.  If  he  has  a  family,  my  father  will  support 
them  if  we  have  to  leave  the  neighborhood  and 
go  to  some  other  part  of  the  State.  What  do 
you  say  ?     Shall  I  put  your  name  down  ?  " 

Tom's  friend  did  not  give  a  direct  reply  to 


DRILLS   AND   PARADES.  61 

this  question.  He  evaded  it ;  but  when  he 
had  drawn  away  from  Tom's  side  and  reached 
another  part  of  the  grounds  (the  mounted 
drill  was  still  going  on),  he  said  to  himself  : 

'^No,  you  need  not  put  my  name  down. 
I'm  going  to  be  a  regular  soldier  and  not  a 
Home  Guard.  There  must  be  some  patriotic 
rich  man  in  this  country  who  will  do  for  me 
what  Mr.  Randolph  promised  to  do,  and  Vm. 
going  to  see  if  I  can  find  him.  By  gracious  ? 
I  believe  I'll  try  Mr.  Gray.  They  say  he 
hasn't  done  much  of  anything  for  the  com- 
pany, but  perhaps  he  will  if  he's  asked." 

No ;  Mr.  Gray  had  not  been  buying  votes 
for  his  son,  for  he  did  not  believe  in  doing 
business  that  way.  According  to  his  ideas  of 
right  and  wrong  the  company  officers  ought  to 
go  to  those  who  were  best  qualified  to  fill 
them  ;  and  he  didn't  want  Rodney  to  have  any 
position  unless  the  Rangers  thought  him 
worthy  of  it.  But  he  was  prompt  to  respond 
to  all  appeals  for  aid,  and  so  it  came  about 
that  in  less  than  a  week  Tom  Randolph's 
friends  had  all  been  received  back  into  the 
company,  and  it  was  reported  that  six  of  them 


62  RODT^EY,  THE   PAETISAW. 

were  to  be  mounted  and  armed  at  Mr.  Gray's 
expense. 

"  That's  to  pay  'em  for  voting  Rodney  in  for 
first  duty  sergeant,"  snapj^ed  Tom,  when  he 
heard  the  news.  "I'd  go  without  office  before 
I  would  have  my  father  do  things  in  that  bare- 
faced way.  And  as  for  those  who  are  willing 
to  accept  pay  for  their  votes,  they  ought  to  be 
heartily  ashamed  of  themselves." 

"Never  niiind,"  said  Mr.  Randolph,  sooth- 
ingly. "There  is  no  need  that  a  young  man 
in  your  circumstances  should  go  into  the  army 
as  private,  and  I  don't  mean  that  you  shall  do 
it.  I'll  make  it  my  business  to  call  on  the 
governor  and  see  if  he  can't  find  a  berth 
for  you." 

"But  remember  that  it  must  be  a  military 
appointment,"  said  Tom.  "No  clerkship  or 
anything  of  that  sort  for  me." 

While  the  Rangers  were  working  hard  to 
get  themselves  in  shape  for  the  field,  Captain 
Hubbard  and  his  lieutenants  had  received 
their  commissions  and  been  duly  sworn  into 
the  State  militia.  Nothing  was  said,  how- 
ever,  about  swearing  in    the    company,    and 


DRILLS    AND   PARADES.  63 

when  Cax3tain  Hubbard  called  the  governor's 
attention  to  the  omission  the  latter  replied  : 

"General  Lacey  is  the  man  to  look  after 
such  matters  as  that.  He' s  in  New  Orleans  and 
you  may  be  ordered  to  report  to  him  there." 

"How  about  our  uniforms?"  asked  the 
ca]3tain. 

"  Do  as  you  please  about  uniforms  so  long 
as  you  conform  to  the  army  regulations.  Of 
course  your  arms  and  equipments  will  be 
furnished  you,  and  the  government  will  allow 
you  sixty  cents  a  day  for  the  use  of  your 
horses.'' 

The  most  of  the  Rangers  thought  this  was 
all  right,  and  Captain  Hubbard  at  once  called 
a  business  meeting  of  the  company  to  decide 
upon  the  uniform  they  wonld  Avear  when  they 
went  to  New  Orleans  to  be  sworn  in  ;  but  there 
was  one  among  them  who  did  not  take  much 
interest  in  the  proceedings.  He  did  not  say  a 
great  deal  during  the  meeting,  but  when  he 
Avent  home  that  night  he  remarked  to  his 
father  : 

"  This  partisan  business  is  a  humbug  so  far 
as  this  State  is  concerned.". 


64  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

^'  What  makes  you  say  that? "  inquired  Mr. 
Grav. 

^'Just  this,"  answered  Rodney.  ''Why 
didn't  the  governor  swear  us  in  himself  instead 
of  telling  us  that  we  must  wait  for  General 
Lacey  to  do  it  ?  The  General  is  a  Confederate, 
not  a  State  officer,  and  when  he  musters  us  in 
it  will  be  into  the  Confederate  service." 

This  was  not  a  pleasing  prospect  for  the  rest- 
less, ambitious  young  fellow,  who  had  con- 
fidently looked  for  something  better,  but  he 
had  gone  too  far  to  back  out.  He  had  told  his 
comrades  that  he  intended  to  share  theii  for- 
tunes, whatever  they  might  be,  and  this  was 
the  time  to  make  good  his  words.  If  he  had 
worked  his  men  hard  before,  he  worked  them 
harder  now,  devoting  extra  time  and  attention 
to  the  officers  in  order  to  get  them  in  shape 
to  command  the  grand  drill  and  dress  parade 
that  was  to  come  off  as  soon  as  their  uni- 
forms arrived. 

In  the  meantime  outside  events  were  not 
overlooked.  Everything  pointed  to  war,  and 
news  from  all  parts  of  the  Confederacy  bore 
evidence  to  the  fact  that  the  seceded  States 


DRILLS   AjS-D   parades.  65 

were  preparing  for  it,  while  tlie  people  of  the 
North  stood  with  their  hands  in  their  j^ockets 
and  looked  on.  Finally  the  long-delayed  ex- 
plosion came,  and  the  country  was  in  an  uproar 
from  one  end  to  the  other.  Fort  Sumter  was 
fired  upon  and  comj)elled  to  surrender — fifty- 
one  men  against  five  thousand — and  the  Ran- 
gers shook  hands  and  patted  one  another  on 
the  back  and  declared  that  that  was  the  way 
they  would  serve  the  Yankees  every  time  they 
met  them.  Then  came  President  Lincoln's 
War  Proclamation,  followed  b}^  the  accession 
of  four  States  to  the  Confederacy,  the  block- 
ade of  the  Southern  sea-ports  and  President 
Davis's  offer  to  issue  letters  of  marque  and 
reprisal.  All  this  while  the  mails  were  regu- 
larly received,  and  Rodney  Gray  heard  from 
every- one  of  the  Barrington  boys  who  had  pro- 
mised to  enlist  within  twenty-four  hours  after 
they  reached  home.  They  had  all  kept  that 
promise  except  Dixon,  the  tall  Kentuckian, 
and  he  was  getting  ready  as  fast  as  he  could. 

"  I  have  been  between  a  hoot  and  a  whistle 
ever  since  I  have  been  home,"  was  what  he 


66  KODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN". 


wrote  to  Rodney  Gray.  *'Tlie  State  was 
divided  against  itself,  and  I  couldn't  tell  until 
the  15th,  (April)  which  way  she  was  going ; 
but  now  I  know.  When  the  Yankee  Presi- 
dent called  for  those  seventy-five  thousand 
volunteers  our  Governor  replied  :  '  I  say  em- 
phatically that  Kentucky  will  furnish  no 
troops  for  the  wicked  purpose  of  subjugating 
her  sister  Southern  States.  As  Dick  Graham 
used  to  say,  'That's  me.'  I  go  with  the 
government  of  my  State.  jS'ow,  then,  what 
have  you  done?  I  shall  write  the  rest  of  the 
fellows  to-day." 

Billings,  the  South  Carolina  boy,  reached 
home  too  late  to  take  part  in  the  bombardment 
of  Fort  Sumter,  and  he  told  Rodney  that  he 
was  very  sorry  for  it.  Every  one  of  the 
gallant  five  thousand  who  had  fought  for 
thirty-four  hours  to  compel  a  handful  of 
tired  and  hungry  men  to  haul  down  their  flag 
was  looked  upon  as  a  hero,  and  Billings  said 
he  might  have  been  a  hero  too,  if  he  had  only 
had  sense  enough  to  leave  school  a  month 
earlier.  But  he  was  all  right  now.  He  was  a 
Confederate  soldier  and  ready  to  do  and  dare 
with  the  best  of  them. 


DRILLS   AND   PARADES.  67 

Dick  Graham,  whose  -home  you  will  remem- 
ber was  in  Missouri,  wrote  in  much  the  same 
strain  that  Dixon  did.  His  State  was  in  such 
a  turmoil  and  seemed  to  be  so  evenly  divided 
between  Union  and  disunion,  that  Dick  could 
not  tell  which  way  she  was  going  until  he  saw 
Governor  Jackson's  answer  to  Lincoln's  call 
for  volunteers.  "  There  can  be,  I  apprehend, 
no  doubt  that  these  men  are  intended  to  make 
war  upon  the  seceded  States,"  said  the  Gov- 
ernor. ".Your  requisition,  in  my  judgment,  is 
illegal,  unconstitutional  and  revolutionary  in 
its  objects,  inhuman  and  diabolical  and  cannot 
be  complied  with.  Not  one  man  will  the  State 
of  Missouri  furnish  to  carry  on  such  an  unholy 
crusade." 

"When  I  read  those  burning  words,"  Dick 
wrote,  with  enthusiasm,  "my  mind  was  made 
up  and  I  knew  where  I  stood.  I  expected  some 
such  move  on  the  Governor's  part,  for  when  he 
came  into  office  in  January,  he  declared  that 
Missouri  must  stand  by  the  other  ^lave  States 
whatever  course  they  might  pursue.  I  kept 
my  promise  and  enlisted  in  a  company  of  par- 
tisans raised  under  the  terms  of  the  Military 


68  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

Bill,  whicli  makes  every  able-bodied  man  in 
the  State  subject  to  military  duty.  Price  is 
our  immediate  commander,  but  we  were  re- 
quired to  take  the  oath  to  obey  the  Governor 
alone." 

"There,  noAv,"  exclaimed  E-odney,  when  he 
read  this.  "  What's  the  reason  our  Governor 
can't  swear  the  Rangers  in  as  well  as  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Missouri  can  swear  his  troops  in  ?  I 
believe  he  could  if  there  wasn't  something 
back  of  it." 

^'  What  do  you  think  there  is  back  of  it  ?" 
inquired  his  father. 

"I  can't  imagine,  unless  there  is  some  sort 
of  an  arrangement  existing  between  him  and 
the  Confederate  authorities  at  ISTew  Orleans," 
replied  Rodney.  "  The  Governor  lets  on  that 
he  is  strongly  in  favor  of  independent  organi- 
zations, but  he  don't  act  as  if  he  was." 

Rodney  showed  Dick's  letter  to  Captain 
Hubbard,  who  posted  off  to  Baton  Rouge  with 
it ;  but  he  got  no  satisfaction  there.  There 
had  been  ho  such  Military  Bill  passed  in 
Louisiana,  the  Governor  said,  and  there  was  no 
need  of  it,  the  situation  there  and  in  Missouri 


DRILLS   AND    PARADES.  69 

was  so  different.  The  latter  State  was  exposed 
to  "invasion"  (by  which  he  meant  that  Cap- 
tain Lyon's  small  company  of  regulars  was 
likely  to  be  reinforced),  bnt  Louisiana  was  so 
protected  on  all  sides  that  Lincoln's  hirelings 
could  not  get  at  her  if  they  tried. 

"Then  he  wouldn't  assume  control  of  the 
company?"  said  Rodney. 

"  No,  he  wouldn't.  I  had  a  personal  inter- 
view with  him  at  his  own  house  and  did  some 
of  my  best  talking  ;  but  it  was  no  use.  He 
was  non-committal — that  was  the  worst  of  it, 
and  I — Say,"  added  the  captain,  in  an  under- 
tone, "  I  have  sorter  suspected  that  he  meant 
to  turn  us  over  to  the  Confederacy." 

"That's  what  I  have  thought  for  a  good 
while,"  said  Rodney. 

"Yes,"  continued  the  captain.  "So  I 
thought  I  might  as  well  give  him  to  under- 
stand that  we  were  not  going  to  allow  our- 
selves to  be  turned  over  as  long  as  we  re- 
mained free  men.  I  showed  him  your  friend's 
letter,  and  hinted  pretty  strongly  that  if  we 
could  not  swear  obedience  to  the  Governor  of 
our  own  State,  the  Governor  of  another  State 


70  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

miglit  be  willing  to  accept  us,  and  you  ouglit 
to  have  seen  him  open  his  eyes." 

''What  did  he  say?" 

' '  He  said  he  ho]3ed  that  I  wouldn'  t  think 
of  doing  such  a  thing  as  that,  but  if  I  did,  he 
would  have  to  revoke  my  commission." 

"Who  calces  if  he  does?"  exclaimed  Rod- 
ney. ' '  Let  him  revoke  it  if  he  wants  to,  and 
you  can  get  another  from  Governor  Jackson." 

"  That's  what  I  thought.  Now,  I'll  tell  you 
what  we'll  do — at  least  we'll  hold  a  secret 
meeting  after  drill  and  propose  it  to  the  boys. 
Suppose  you  telegraph  to  your  chum's 
father — you  know  where  to  find  him  and  you 
don't  know  where  to  find  Dick  Graham — and 
ask  him  if  General  Price  will  accept  our  ser- 
vices, leaving  us  our  independent  organization, 
provided  we  will  take  the  oath  to  obey  the 
Governor  of  Missouri." 

"I'll  do  it,''  answered  Rodney.  "And  if 
you  will  postpone  the  drill  for  half  an  hour  I 
will  ride  into  town  and  attend  to  it  at  once. 
It's  the  only  thing  ^we  can  do  and  keejD  out  of 
the  Confederate  army.  Dog- gone  the  Confed- 
eracy.    The  State  is  the  one  I  want  to  serve." 


5> 


DRILLS   AND   PARADES.  71 

Rodney  rode  into  Mooreville  at  a  gallop, 
wrote  out  the  dispatch  and  stood  at  the  desk 
while  Drummond,  the  operater,  sent  it  off. 
Although  the  latter  looked  surprised  he  did 
not  say  anything  ;  but  while  Rodney  was  on 
his  way  back  to  camp,  a  copy  of  his  dispatch 
was  on  its  way  to  Baton  Rouge. 

In  accordance  with  Captain  Hubbard's  pro- 
gramme a  secret  meeting  of  the  company  was 
held  after  the  drill  was  over,  but  it  turned  out 
that  the  members  were  not  so  strongly  in  favor 
of  the  captain's  plan  as  he  and  Rodney 
thought  they  were  going  to  be.  While  the 
Rangers  fully  determined  to  preserve  their  in- 
dex)endent  organization,  they  were  not  willing 
to  give  their  services  to  the  governor  of 
another  State.  There  was  a  dead-lock  devel- 
oped at  once  ;  and  it  was  finally  decided  that 
the  best  thing  they  could  do  would  be  to  ad- 
journ until  Rodney  had  received  a  reply  to  his 
disx)atch.  Perhaps  General  Price  would  not 
take  them,  and  that  would  end  the  matter. 
If  he  would,  why  then,  they  could  call 
another  meeting  and  decide  what  they  would 
do  about  it. 


72  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAT^. 

The  next  day  their  uniforms  came  up  from 
New  Orleans,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  day 
following  there  was  a  grand  drill  and  dress 
parade  commanded  by  Captain  Hubbard  in 
person.  The  spectators,  if  we  except  the  Ran- 
dolph family,  were  delighted  with  it,  and 
Rodney  told  his  father  privately  that  he  had 
seen  many  a  worse  one  at  the  Barrington 
Academy.  Kodney  didn't  want  to  say  so  out 
loud,  of  course,  for  he  was  the  drill-master ; 
but  it  was  not  long  before  he  discovered  that 
the  Rangers  knew  whom  to  thank  for  their 
proficiency,  and  that  they  fully  appreciated 
the  patient  and  untiring  efforts  he  had  made 
to  bring  them  into  military  form.  When  the 
ranks  had  been  broken  after  dress  parade,  and 
the  Rangers  and  their  invited  guests  thronged 
into  the  grove  behind  the  tents  to  make  an 
assault  upon  the  well-loaded  tables  they  found 
there,  the  deputy  sheriff,  the  man  with  the 
stentorian  voice,  who  was  a  j^rivate  in  the 
company,  sprang  upon  the  band-stand,  com- 
manded attention,  and  afterward  shouted  for 
Sergeant  Rodney  Gray  to  come  forward.  As 
the    boy  wonderingly    obeyed,    the    Rangers 


DRILLS   AND   PAEADES.  73 

and  their  guests  closed  about  the  stand  and 
hemmed  it  in  on  all  sides.  Captain  Hubbard 
had  taken  np  a  position  there,  and  when  Rod- 
ney halted  in  front  of  him  and  took  off  his 
cap,  the  latter  began  a  speech,  thanking  the 
young  sergeant  for  Avhat  he  had  done  for  the 
company,  and  begging  him  to  accept  a  small 
token  of  their  respect  and  esteem. 

"  Take  it,  friend  Rodney,"  said  the  captain, 
in  conclusion.  "  Keep  it  to  remind  you  of  the 
pure  gold  of  our  friendship  which  shall  never 
know  alloy.  And  while  we  sincerely  trust 
that  it  may  never  be  drawn  except  upon  peace- 
ful occasions  of  ceremony,  we  are  sure  you 
will  not  permit  it  to  remain  idle  in  its  scab- 
bard while  the  flag  of  our  Young  Republic  is 
in  danger,  or  your  good  right  arm  retains  the 
power  to  wield  it." 

The  captain  stepped  back,  and  the  thor- 
oughly astonished  Rodney  stood  holding  in 
his  hands  an  elegant  cavalry  sabre.  He  stared 
hard  at  it,  and  then  he  looked  at  the  expectant 
crowd  around  the  band-stand. 

"  Speech,  speech  !  "  yelled  the  Rangers. 

But  the  usually  self-possessed  Barrington  boy 


74  EODNEY,  THE  PAKTISAN. 


J 


was  past  speecli-making  now.  He  managed  to 
mumble  a  few  words  of  thanks,  got  to  the 
ground  somehow  and  mingled  with  the  crowd 
as  quickly  as  possible. 

''How  very  surprised  he  is,"  sneered  Tom 
Randolph,  who  told  himself  regretfully  that  a 
sword  like  that  might  have  been  presented  to 
him  if  he  had  only  remained  with  the  com- 
pany. ' '  I  will  bet  my  horse  against  his  that  he 
knew  a  week  ago  that  he  was  going  to  get  it." 

Rodney  waited  four  days  before  he  received 
a  reply  to  the  disjpatch  he  sent  to  Dick  Gra- 
ham's father,  and  seeing  that  the  authorities 
had  assumed  control  of  the  wires,  and  the 
operator  at  Mooreville  was  a  government  sx3y, 
it  was  rather  singular  that  he  got  it  at  all.  It 
ran  as  follows  : 

"Price  will  accept.  Company  officers  and 
independent  organization  to  remain  the  same." 

"  I  tell  you  Missouri  is  the  best  State  yet," 
said  Rodney,  handing  the  telegram  over  to 
Captain  Hubbard.  ' '  This  brings  the  matter 
squarely  home  to  the  boys,  and  they've  got  to 
decide  upon  something  this  very  night." 


DRILLS   AND   PARADES.  75 

And  they  did.  but  it  was  only  after  a  stormy 
and  even  heated  discussion.  The  captain  and 
Rodney  carried  their  point  but  it  was  by  a 
very  small  majority  of  votes  ;  and  the  former, 
believing  it  advisable  to  strike  while  the  iron 
was  hot,  took  one  of  his  lieutenants  and 
started  for  New  Orleans  to  engage  passage  for 
his  company  to  Little  Rock.  It  was  at  this 
juncture  that  Rodney  wrote  that  letter  to  his 
cousin  Marcy  Gray,  a  portion  of  which  we 
gave  to  the  reader  in  the  first  volume  of  this 
series.  You  will  remember  that  he  spoke 
with  enthusiasm  of  the  "  high  old  times  "  he 
expected  to  have  "running  the  Yankees  out 
of  Missouri."  Well,  he  had  all  the  opportu- 
nities he  wanted,  but  they  were  not  brought 
about  just  as  he  thought  they  were  going 
to  be. 

The  captain  and  his  lieutenant  were  gone 
two  days,  and  came  back  to  re^Dort  that  the 
steamers  were  all  so  busy  with  government 
business  that  it  would  be  a  week  or  more 
before  they  could  get  transportation  ;  but  the 
captain  had  left  instructions  with  his  cotton- 
factor  who  would  keep   his  eyes   open,    and 


76  KODNEY,  THE   PARTISAiq". 


telegraph  liim  when  to  expect  a  boat  at  Baton 
Rouge  landing.  In  the  meantime  the  harder 
they  worked  the  less  they  would  have  to  learn 
when  they  reached  the  Army  of  the  West. 
That  very  afternoon  they  had  a  great  surprise. 
The  Rangers  were  going  through  a  mounted 
drill,  acquitting  themselves  very  creditably 
they  thought,  when  some  one  in  the  ranks 
became  aw^are  that  they  had  a  distinguished 
visitor  in  the  person  of  the  Governor  of  the 
State,  who  sat  in  a  carriage  looking  on. 
Beside  him  was  a  little,  dried-up,  cross-look- 
ing man  in  fatigue  cap  and  soiled  linen  duster, 
who  kept  making  loud  and  unfavorable  com- 
ments upon  the  drill,  although  he  did  not  look 
as  though  he  knew  anything  about  it.  As 
soon  as  Captain  Hubbard  learned  that  the  Gov- 
ernor w^as  among  the  spectators,  he  brought 
the  Rangers  into  line  and  rode  up  to  the  car- 
riage and  saluted. 

"  Well,  captain,"  said  the  Governor,  nod- 
ding in  response  to  the  salute.  ' '  I  am  glad  to 
see  that  you  are  hard  at  work  and  that  your 
men  are  rapidly  improving.  Have  you  a  copy 
of  your  muster-roll  handy  ?  " 


DRILLS   AND   PARADES.  77 

The  captain  replied  that  he  had  and  the 
Governor  continued — 

*'Then  be  good  enough  to  produce  it  and 
hand  it  to  this  officer  who  will  muster  you  in. 
I  am  not  going  to  let  such  a  body  of  men  as 
you  are  go  out  of  the  State  if  I  can  helj)  it." 

''  Shall  I  dismount  the  men,  sir?"  asked  the 
captain,  addressing  the  cross-looking  little  man, 
who  arose  to  his  feet  and  shook  himself  to- 
gether as  if  he  w^ere  getting  ready  for  business. 

"No,"  was  the  surly  reply.  "We'll  drive 
up  in  front  of  the  company  and  I  can  call  the 
roll  while  standing  in  the  carriage.  It'll  not 
take  ten  minutes  and  then  you  can  go  on  with 
your  drill.     I  see  you  need  it  bad  enough." 

Captain  Hubbard,  who  was  so  angry  that  he 
forgot  to  salute,  wheeled  his  horse  and  rode 
back  to  the  company. 

"Orderly,"  said  he,  in  an  undertone.  "  Get 
a  copy  of  your  muster-roll  and  give  it  to  that 
old  curmudgeon  in  the  carriage.  He's  going 
to  try  to  muster  us  in  but  I  doubt  if  he  Ivuows 
enough.  I  am  glad  to  see  him,  however,  for 
when  he  gets  through  with  us,  we  shall  know 
right  where  we  stand." 


CHAPTER  lY. 

A   SCHEME  THAT   DIDN't  WORK. 

"  ^  AY,"  exclaimed  Rodney  Gray  excitedly, 
k3  as  Captain  Hubbard  took  liis  place  on 
the  right  of  the  company  and  the  orderly 
galloped  off  to  his  tent.  "Who  is  that  old 
party  in  the  Governor's  carriage  ?  " 

"You  can't  prove  it  by  me,"  answered  the 
captain.      "I    never   saw   him    before,  but  I 
know  he's  a  mighty  cross-grained  old  chap." 
"Mav  I  leave  the  ranks  a  minute?"  con- 

ft/ 

tinned  Rodney. 

"  Of  course  not.  What  would  the  Governor 
think?" 

*'  I  don't  care  a  picayune  what  he  thinks," 
replied  Rodney,  his  excitement  increasing  as 
the  Governor's  carriage  began  to  circle  around 
toward  the  front  and  center  of  the  company. 
"If  that  man  in  the  fatigue  cap  and  duster 
isn't  General  Lacey,  all  the  descriptions  I  have 
heard  of  him  are  very  much  at  fault." 

78 


A    SCHEME   THAT   DIDN't    WORK.  79 

''And  do  you  really  believe,"  began  the 
captain,  avIio  was  profoundly  astonished. 

''I  don't  believe,  I  know  that  he  means  to 
muster  us  into  the  Confederate  service,"  inter- 
rupted Rodney.  ''Hold  on  a  minute  before 
you  do  a  thing  or  let  a  man  answer  to  his 
name.    My  father  knows  him  by  sight." 

Without  again  asking  permission  to  leave 
his  place,  Rodney  put  his  horse  in  motion  and 
rode  over  to  the  tree  under  whose  friendly 
shade  Mr.  Gray  was  sitting  Avhile  he  watched 
the  drill. 

"Father,"  said  he,  speaking  rapidly  and 
panting  as  if  he  had  been  running  instead  of 
riding,  "  who  is  that  in  the  carriage  with  the 
Governor?    Is  it  General  Lacey  ?  "     . 

Mr.  Gray  nodded  and  looked  up  at  his 
son  as  if  to  ask  him  what  he  was  going  to  do 
about  it. 

"  Well,  he  has  come  here  to  muster  us  in, 
and  the  orderly  has  gone  after  the  roll-book," 
continued  Rodney.  "The  general  is  a  Con- 
federate oiScer,  and  if  we  let  him  muster  us 
in,  he  will  make  Confederate  soldiers  of  us, 
wont  he?" 


80  RODNEY,  THE   PAETISAN. 

"That's  the  way  it  looks  from  where  I  sit," 
answered  Mr.  Gray. 

*'  It's  the  way  it  looks  from  where  I  sit  too, 
and  I  just  wont  have  any  such  trick  played 
uj)on  me,"  said  Rodney,  hotly.  "I  know 
what  I  want  and  what  I  want  to  do  ;  and  as 
long  as  I  am  a  free  man,  nobody  shall  make 
me  do  anything  else." 

' '  Are  you  going  to  back  out  ? ' ' 

"I  am.  I'll  not  answer  to  my  name  when  it 
is  called.  I'll  go  back  and  put  the  other  fel- 
lows on  their  guard,  and  then  I'll  fall  out." 

So  saying  Rodney  wheeled  his  horse  and 
returned  to  his  company,  which  he  found  in  a 
state  of  great  excitement.  The  ranks  were 
kept  pretty  well  aligned  (the  horses  knew 
enough  to  look  out  for  that  now),  but  the  men 
were  twisting  about  in  their  saddles,  each  one 
comparing  notes  with  every  one  else  whose 
ears  he  could  reach.  When  Rodney  rode  up 
they  all  turned  to  look  at  him  and  listen  to  his 
report,  regardless  of  the  fact  that  the  little 
man  in  the  brown  ulster  was  standing  up  in 
the  Governor's  carriage  shouting  "Atten- 
tion !  "  at  the  top  of  his  wheezy  little  voice. 


A   SCHEME   THAT   DIDN't   WOKK.  81 

"Mind  what  you  are  doing,  boys,"  said 
Rodney,  as  lie  rode  slowly  along  the  line  be- 
hind the  rear  rank.  "  That's  General  Lacey. 
Don't  answer  to  your  names  unless  you  want 
to  be  sworn  into  the  Confederate  service." 

"But  what  shall  we  do  r'  inquired  one  or 
two  of  the  timid  members,  who  thought  they 
might  be  obliged  to  answer  whether  they 
wanted  to  or  not. 

"  Keep  mum  and  say  nothing,"  replied  Rod- 
ney. "  Watch  me  and  do  as  I  do.  My  name 
is  second  on  the  roll." 

"Are  you  ever  going  to  come  to  attention  so 
that  I  can  get  through  with  my  business  and 
go  back  where  I  belong  ?  "  yelled  the  general, 
as  soon  as  he  could  make  himself  heard.  "A 
pretty  lot  of  soldiers  you  are  ;  but  I  warn  you 
that  you  will  have  to  mind  better  than  this 
when  you  reach  the  camp  of  instruction,  to 
which  I  shall  immediately  order  you.  Atten- 
tion to  roll-call !     George  Warren  !  " 

"  He— er— here  !  "  replied  the  orderly,  hesi- 
tatingly. 

The  Rangers  were  amazed,  and  Captain 
Hubbard  glared  at  the  frightened  sergeant  as 


82  EODNEYj  THE   PARTISAIN^. 

tliougli  lie  had  half  a  mind  to  knock  him  out 
of  his  saddle.  The  captain  had  told  the  man 
in  the  most  emphatic  language  not  to  answer 
to  his  name,  and  yet  he  had  gone  and  given 
away  his  liberty  for  the  next  twelve  months. 
It  served  him  right  for  being  so  stupid. 

' '  You  blockheads  don' t  seem  to  understand 
what  I  want  and  what  I  am  trying  to  do," 
shouted  the  general,  wrathfully.  "  All  you 
who  volunteer  for  the  Confederate  service 
answer  to  your  names,  and  speak  up  so  that  I 
can  hear  you.  I  hope  that  is  sufficiently  plain. 
Oeorge  Warren  !  ' ' 

The  Rangers,  one  and  all,  drew  a  long 
breath  of  relief  and  felt  like  giving  a  hearty 
cheer.  Their  comrade  had  most  unexpectedly 
been  allowed  a  chance  for  escape,  and  he  was 
sharp  enough  to  take  advantage  of  it.  He 
kept  his  eyes  straight  to  the  front  and  said 
nothing.  The  general  looked  surprised,  but 
as  he  was  in  a  great  hurry  he  passed  on  to  the 
next. 

"  Rodney  Gray  !  " 

This  time  there  was  no  mistaking  the 
answer.     The  sergeant  moved  from  his  place 


A   SCHEME  THAT   DIDN't   WORK.  83 

on  tlie  left  of  the  line,  rode  to  the  center  of  the 
company,  came  to  a  front  and  saluted.  The 
general  opened  his  lips  to  tell  him  that  he 
needn't  come  to  the  front  and  center  in  order 
to  answer  to  his  name,  but  the  Barrington  boy 
was  too  quick  for  him. 

"General,"  said  he,  while  all  the  Rangers 
strained  their  ears  to  catch  his  words.  "  I  am 
ready  at  any  time  to  be  sworn  into  the  service 
of  my  State,  but  I  do  not  wish  to  join  the  Con- 
federate army.     I  am  a  Partisan  Ranger." 

"A — a — tohatf^  vociferated  the  general, 
now  thoroughly  aroused.  He  was  a  Mexican 
veteran,  a  thorough  soldier  as  well  as  a  marti- 
net, and  he  had  never  learned  to  recognize  any 
organizations  outside  of  the  regular  service. 

"A  Partisan  Ranger,"  repeated  Rodney, 
who  was  neither  embarrassed  nor  angered  by 
the  covert  sneer  contained  in  the  general's 
words. 

"A  Ranger!"  exclaimed  the  general,  rais- 
ing his  hands  in  the  air  and  turning  his  eyes 
toward  the  clouds.  "  Shade  of  the  great  and 
good  Washington  !  what  are  we  coming  to  1 
A  partisan  !     And  are  you  all  partisans  ? " 


84  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

"Yes  sir,  we  are;  and  until  very  recently 
we  have  been  encouraged  to  believe  that  we 
could  preserve  our  independent  organization." 

"You  were,  eh?  Then  you  had  better 
organize  yourselves  into  Home  Guards  at  once 
and  I  will  go  back  to  JN'ew  Orleans.  Partisan 
Rangers ! "  said  the  general,  who  seemed 
unable  to  get  the  obnoxious  words  out  of  his 
mind.  "There's  your  roll-book.  Drive  on, 
coachman." 

The  general  flung  the  book  on  the  ground 
at  the  feet  of  Rodney's  horse,  threw  himself 
back  in  his  seat  and  the  carriage  moved 
rapidly  away.  The  Rangers  sat  motionless  in 
their  saddles  until  it  passed  through  the  gate 
and  disappeared  behind  the  trees  in  the  grove, 
and  then  they  turned  and  looked  at  one 
another. 

"We  know  where  we  stand  now  at  all 
events,"  said  Captain  Hubbard,  riding  up  in 
front  of  the  line,  and  throwing  his  right  leg 
over  the  horn  of  his  saddle  in  a  position  most 
unbecoming  a  commanding  officer.  "My 
commission  will  be  taken  from  me,  and  vou 
fellows  will  be    reduced    to  plain,   every-day 


A   SCHEME   THAT  DIDN't   WORK.  85 

citizens  once  more.  We  might  as  well  quit 
this  nonsense  now,  and  I  say,  let's  pack  up 
and  go  home." 

''  I'll  go,  but  I'll  not  promise  to  stay  there," 
said  Rodney. 

"  Where  will  you  go  ?  " 

^'  Up  to  Missouri.  I  have  set  my  heart  on 
being  a  partisan,  and  if  my  own  State  wont 
take  me,  I  have  a  i^erfect  right  to  offer  my 
valuable  services  to  another.  I  shall  start  for 
Baton  Rouge  to-morrow,  and  I  and  my  horse 
will  take  passage  on  the  first  St.  Louis  boat 
that  comes  along." 

"Hear,  hear!"  shouted  some  of  the 
Rangers. 

"  Let's  go  in  a  body,"  said  one.  "  We  have 
the  assurance  that  our  services  will  be  ac- 
cepted, that  the  officers  we  have  elected  will 
be  retained,  that  our  plan  of  organization  will 
not  be  interfered  with,  and  what  more  could 
we  ask  for? " 

"That  wont  suit  me,'^  another  declared. 
"  I  don't  want  to  leave  my  State." 

"How  are  you  going  to  help  yourself? "  de- 
manded Rodney.      "If  you  join  the   Confed- 


8Q  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


erate  army  you  are  liable  to  be  ordered  up  to 
Virginia  or  down  to  Florida.  And  you  know 
as  well  as  I  do  what  the  people  around  here 
will  think  of  you  if  you  make  up  your  mind  to 
stay  at  home." 

"Let's  take  the  sense  of  the  company  on 
it,"  suggested  Lieutenant  Percy. 

"All  right,"  answered  the  captain.  "Put 
the  thing  in  the  form  of  a  motion  and  I  will.' ' 

This  was  quickly  done,  and  to  Rodney's 
great  disapj) ointment,  though  not  much  to  his 
surprise,  the  proi3osition  w^as  defeated  by  a 
large  majority.  The  Rangers  were  opposed  to 
deserting  their  State  in  a  body  and  going  into 
another. 

"I'll  not  stay  at  home,  and  that's  all  there 
is  about  it,"  said  one  of  the  Rangers  who  had 
voted  with  the  minority.  "Does  anybody 
here  know  what  course  w^e  do  w^ant  to  pursue  ? 
I  have  my  doubts  ;  and  in  order  to  test  the 
matter  I  move  you,  Mr.  Commander,  that  we 
offer  ourselves  as  a  company  to  the  Confederate 
States." 

The  motion  was  received  with  such  a  howl 
of  dissent  that  if  there  was  a  second  to  it  the 


A  scHE:\rE  THAT  didn't  woek.  87 

captain  did  not  hear  it.  Some  of  tlie  Rangers, 
to  show  what  they  thought  of  the  proposition, 
backed  their  horses  out  of  the  ranks  and  rode 
away.  Among  them  was  Rodney,  who  re- 
turned to  the  tree  under  which  his  father  was 
sitting. 

"  Isn't  it  rather  unusual  for  a  cavalry  com- 
pany  to  hold  a  business  meeting  on  horse- 
back?"  inquired  the  latter,  as  the  boy  swung 
himself  from  his  saddle,  "  There  seems  to  be 
a  big  difference  of  opinion  among  the  members, 
and  you  look  as  though  things  hadn't  gone 
to  suit  you.     What  have  you  decided  to  do ?" 

''Nothing  as  a  company,"  replied  Rodney. 
"In  fact  we  are  not  a  company  any  longer.  It 
is  every  one  for  himself  now." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  that?  Have  you 
disbanded  ? " 

Rodney  explained  the  situation  in  a  few 
words,  adding  that  he  thought  he  might  as 
well  be  riding  toward  home  so  as  to  spend  all 
the  time  he  could  with  his  mother,  for  he  was 
going  away  bright  and  early  on  the  following 
morning.  Mr.  Gray  looked  very  sober  and 
thoughtful  when  he  heard  these  words. 


88  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

^'I'd  rather  you  would  stay  at  home," 
said  he. 

"And  I  would  much  prefer  to  stay,  but  I 
will  not  go  into  the  service  of  the  Confederacy. 
This  State  is  an  independent  Commonwealth 
now,  and  is  entitled  to,  and  has  a  right  to 
demand  the  best  service  I  can  give  her  ;  but 
who  cares  for  the  Confederacy  ?  I  think  less 
of  it  than  I  did  this  morning,  for  one  of  its 
officers  tried  to  rope  us  in  without  our  con- 
sent." 

That  was  Rodney's  first  exjperience  with  the 
duplicity  and  utter  lack  of  fair  dealing  that 
characterized  all  the  actions  of  the  Confederate 
authorities,  but  it  was  bv  no  means  the  last. 
We  shall  speak  of  this  again  when  we  see  him 
coming  down  the  Arkansas  Kiver,  bound  for 
the  Army  of  the  Center,  a  Confederate  soldier 
in  spite  of  himself. 

Having  given  his  comrades  plenty  of  time  to 
vote  uj)on  the  last  proposition  submitted  to 
them — that  they  should  offer  themselves  as  a 
company  to  the  Confederate  States — Rodney 
got  upon  his  horse  again  and  rode  back  to  see 
if  they  had  determined  upon  any  particular 


A   SCHEME  THAT   DIDN't    WORK.  89 

course  of  action,  bnt  from  all  lie  could  learn 
the  matter  was  far  from  being  settled.  Some  • 
wanted  to  do  one  thing  and  some  were  in  favor 
of  doing  another  ;  but  finding  at  last  that  they 
could  not  agree,  they  began  drawing  away  by 
twos  and  threes,  and  finally  Eodney  Gray  was 
left  alone  with  the  commissioned  ofiicers. 

"  I  am  at  my  wit's  end,"  declared  Captain 
Hubbard,  whose  face  wore  a  most  dejected 
look.  "  We  don't  want  to  remain  at  home,  and 
neither  do  we  desire  to  put  ourselves  under  the 
control  of  such  a  man  as  General  Lacey  :  but 
there's  nothing  else  we  can  do,  unless  we  go 
up  to  Missouri.  Were  you  really  in  earnest 
when  you  said  you  intended  to  start  off  to- 
morrow ? "  he  added,  addressing  himself  to 
Rodney.  "Your  decision  was  made  on  the 
spur  of  the  moment,  wasn't  it  ? " 
.  "  Well,  no.  I  made  up  my  mind  some  time 
ago  that  there  was  going  to  be  a  hitch  of  some 
sort  in  our  arrangements,  and  laid  my  plans 
accordingly." 

"How  are  you  going  to  work  it  to  reach 
Price's  army?"  inquired  Lieutenant  Percy. 
"  Don't  you  know  that  there  have  been  rioting 


90  RODNEr,  THE  PARTISAN. 

and    bloodshed    in   St.   Louis,  and    that  the 
Dutchmen  have  got  control  of  the  city  ?  " 

' '  Of  course  ;  but  that' s  all  over  now.  I 
shall  telegraph  to  Dick  Graham's  father  that  I 
am  coming,  and  trust  to  luck  when  I  reach  St. 
Louis.  Perhaps  he  can  make  it  convenient  to 
meet  me  there  ;  if  not,  I  have  a  tongue  in  my 
head  and  a  good  horse  to  ride,  and  I  have  no 
fears  but  that  I  shall  get  through." 

^'Well,  ni  tell  you  what's  a  fact,"  said 
Lieutenant  Odell.  "  You  can  go  alone  for  all 
of  me.  There's  altogether  too  much  danger  in 
the  step.  You'll  never  get  through  the  lines 
without  a  pass,  and  how  are  you  going  to  get 
it?  The  first  thing  you  know  you  will  be 
arrested  and  shoved  into  jail." 

"  I  have  thought  of  that,"  answered  Eod- 
ney,  calmly,  ^^but  I'll  take  my  chances  on  it. 
It's  go  there  or  stay  home,  and  I  have  decided 
to  go.  Good-by,  if  I  don't  see  you  again,  and 
if  you  hear  any  of  the  boys  say  that  they 
would  like  to  go  with  me,  send  them  up  to 
the  house." 

This  was  said  in  the  most  matter  of  fact  way, 
as  if  Rodney   were  going    to  ride  to  Baton 


A   SCHEME  THAT  DIDN't   WORK.  91 

Rouge  one  day  and  come  back  the  next ;  but 
they  all  knew  that  the  parting  was  for  a  longer 
time  than  that,  and  each  officer  thrust  his  hand 
into  his  pocket  to  find  something  that  would 
do  for  a  keepsake.  Odell  handed  over  a  big 
jack-knife  with  the  remark  that  the  sergeant 
might  find  it  useful  in  cutting  bacon  or  break- 
ing up  his  hard-tack,  so  that  he  could  crumb  it 
into  his  coffee.  Percy  gave  him  a  ring  which 
he  drew  from  his  own  finger,  and  the  captain 
presented  him  with  a  twenty-dollar  gold  piece. 
Then  they  shook  hands  with  him  once  more 
and  saw  him  ride  away. 

"It's  like  parting  from  a  younger  brother," 
said  the  captain,  sorrowfully.  "  I  don't  see 
how  his  father  can  let  him  go.  But  he's  got 
nerve  enough  to  carry  him  through  any  scrape 
he  is  likely  to  get  into,  and  besides  he  is  going 
among  friends." 

"But  he's  got  the  enemy's  lines  to  pass 
before  he  can  get  among  friends,  and  that's 
one  thing  that  Avorries  me,"  observed  the  first 
lieutenant.  "What  a  determined  fellow  he 
is.     He  ought  to  make  a  good  soldier." 

"Didn't  I  tell  you  that  that  company  of 


92  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

Rangers  would  never  amount  to  a  row  of 
pins?"  exclaimed  Tom  Randolph,  when  the 
members  rode  straggling  into  town  that  after- 
noon, and  reported  that  their  organization  had 
been  knocked  into  a  cocked  hat  by  General 
Lacey's  attempt  to  muster  it  into  the  service 
of  the  Confederacy.  "  I  knew  by  the  Avay  the 
election  went  that  it  would  bust  up  sooner  or 
later,  and  I  am  heartily  glad  of  it.  Now 
they've  got  to  go  into  the  army,  and  if  I  get 
the  second  lieutenant's  commission  I  am  work- 
ing for,  perhaps  I  shall  be  placed  over  some  of 
the  fellows  who  voted  against  me.  So  Gray  is 
going  to  Missouri,  is  he  ?  Good  riddance. 
He'll  have  to  go  in  as  private,  and  that  will 
bring  him  down  a  peg  or  two." 

Yes,  Rodney  calculated  to  go  in  as  private 
if  he  got  in  at  all,  but  the  prospect  did  not  in 
the  least  dampen  his  ardor.  Contrary  to  his 
expectations  his  mother  did  not  say  one  word 
to  turn  him  from  his  purpose  ;  but  good 
Southerner  that  she  was,  she  heartilv  con- 
demned  the  circumstances  which,  according  to 
her  way  of  thinking,  made  the  parting  nec- 
essary. 


A  SCHEME   THAT   DIDX't   WORK.  93 

"I  wish  the  Mayflower  had  been  sunk 
fathoms  deep  in  the  ocean  before  she  ever 
touched  Plymouth  Eock,"  she  said  to  her 
husband.  "  The  spirit  of  intolerance  those 
Puritans  brought  over  here  with  them  is  what 
is  taking  our  boy  from  us  now.  No  punish- 
ment that  I  can  think  of  would  be  too  severe 
for  them." 

Rodney  lived  in  hopes  that  some  of  the  com- 
pany would  ride  out  to  see  him  during  the 
course  of  the  evening,  but  midnight  came 
without  bringing  any  of  them,  and  the  disap- 
pointed Barrington  boy,  giving  his  mother  the 
last  good-night  kiss  he  imprinted  upon  her  lips 
for  more  than  fifteen  long  months,  w^ent  to  bed 
satisfied  that  he  w^as  to  be  left  to  work  out  his 
own  destiny,  with  no  Moore ville  friend  to 
encourage  or  advise  him.  He  slept  but  little, 
but  appeared  at  the  breakfast  table  as  fresh  as 
a  daisy  and— dressed  in  citizen's  clothing. 

"  This  is  a  pill  I  don't  like  to  swallow,"  said 
he,  opening  his  coat  and  looking  down  at  him- 
self. "  I  said  I  wouldn't  take  off  my  gray  uni- 
form until  the  South  had  gained  her  indepen- 
dence ;  but  I  didn't  know  at  the  time  that  I 


94  KODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

would  find  it  necessary  to  pass  through  the 
enemy's  lines.  Don't  look  so  sober,  mother. 
I  just  know  I  shall  come  out  all  right.  I'll 
surely  write  when  I  reach  St.  Louis,  and  again 
the  very  day  I  find  Dick  Graham." 

That  was  not  a  cheerful  breakfast  table, 
although  every  one  tried  to  make  it  so. 
Before  the  meal  was  half  over  the  family  car- 
riage, with  Rodney's  small  trunk  inside  and 
his  horse  hitched  behind,  drew  up  at  the  door, 
and  a  crowd  of  weeping  servants  gathered 
about  the  foot  of  the  wide  stone  steps  to  bid 
"young  moster"  good-by.  Eodney  saw  it  all 
through  the  window,  and  when  he  got  ready 
to  start  stood  not  on  the  order  of  going,  but 
cut  short  the  parting  and  went  at  once.  He 
arose  from  his  chair  before  he  had  finished 
his  second  cup  of  cofi'ee,  put  on  his  hat 
and  light  overcoat  and  turned  toward  his 
mother. 

"  Good-by,  my  dear  boy,"  she  said,  in  tones 
so  firm  and  cheerful  that  Rodney  was  aston- 
ished. "  Whatever  fate  may  have  in  store  for 
me,  I  hope  I  shall  never  hear  that  you  failed  to 
do  your  duty  as  a  soldier." 


A  SCHEME  THAT   DIDN't   WORK.  95 

There  were  no  tears  in  her  eves — she  was 
past  that  now — but  didn't  she  suffer  ? 

"  The  mother  who  conceals  her  g-rief 
While  to  her  breast  her  son  she  presses, 
Then  breathes  a  few  brave  words  and  brief 
Kissing-  the  patriot  brow  she  blesses, 
With  no  one  but  her  secret  God 
To  know  the  pain  that  weighs  upon  her — 
Sheds  holy  blood  as  e'er  the  sod 
Received  on  Freedom's  field  of  honor  !  " 

How  many  such  partings  there  were  all  over 
this  fair  land  of  ours,  brought  about  by  the 
ambition  of  demagogues  so  few  in  number  that 
we  can  count  them  on  our  fingers  ! 

Rodney's  heart  was  so  full  that  he  could  not 
reply  to  his  mother's  brave  words.  JSTow  that 
the  test  had  come  he  found  that  he  had  less 
fortitude  than  she  had.  He  s-ave  her  one  kiss, 
gently  disengaged  himself  from  her  clinging 
arms  and  bolted  for  the  door. 

"De  good  Lawd  bless  young  moster  an' 
bring  him  safe  back,"  cried  the  tearful  blacks, 
when  he  appeared  at  the  top  of  the  steps. 
^'Dem  babolitionists  aint  got  no  call  to  come 
down  here  an'  take  him  away  from  us.  We- 
uns  never  done  nuffin'  to  dem." 


96  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN". 

"  That's  just  wliat  I  say,"  answered  Rodney. 
'^  And  I  am  going  to  help  lick  them  for  bring- 
ing on  this  trouble  when  we  wanted  peace. 
Good-bv,  one  and  all.  I'  11  be  back  as  soon  as  we 
have  run  the  Yankees  out  of  Missouri,  and  that 
will  not  take  more  than  two  or  three  months." 

Rodney  tried  to  get  into  the  carriage,  but  the 
black  hands  that  were  extended  to  him  from 
every  side  barred  his  way,  and  much  against 
his  will  he  was  obliged  to  linger  long  enough 
to  give  each  of  them  a  hasty  gras]3  and  shake. 
The  onlj^  one  who  stood  aloof  was  the  black 
boy  who  had  been  Rodney's  playmate  when 
the  two  wore  pinafores,  and  he  leaned  against 
the  corner  of  the  house  and  howled  piteously. 
Rodney  felt  relieved  when  the  coachman 
banged  the  door  of  the  carriage  and  mounted 
to  his  seat  and  drove  off.  His  only  tmveling 
companion  was  his  father,  who  intended  to 
remain  in  Baton  Rouge  until  he  had  seen  the 
boy  start  on  his  way  up  the  river. 

It  was  dark  when  they  reached  the  city,  and 
after  Rodney's  horse  and  his  trappings  had 
been  left  at  a  stable  (civilian  trappings  they 
were  too,  for  Rodney  was  afraid  that  a  mill- 


A   SCHEME   THAT  DIDN'T  WORK.  97 

tary  saddle  and  bridle  would  attract  attention 
and  lead  to  inquiries  that  he  might  not  care  to 
answer),  the  coachman  drove  them  to  the 
house  of  a  friend  where  they  were  to  find 
entertainment  until  a  St.  Louis  boat  appeared. 

"  I  am  glad  you  did  not  go  to  a  hotel,"  said 
their  host,  when  he  had  given  them  a  cordial 
welcome.  *'  I  heard  last  night  that  your  entire 
company  was  going  ujj  the  river,  and  that  the 
authorities  were  thinking  strongly  of  putting 
the  last  one  of  you  under  arrest." 

Rodney  and  his  father  were  si)eechless  with 
astonishment. 

"  What  business  would  they  have  to  put  us 
in  arrest?"  exclaimed  the  former,  as  soon  as 
he  found  his  tongue. 

''How  did  the  authorities  learn  tliat  the 
Rangers  had  any  notion  of  going  up  the 
river?"  asked  Mr.  Gray. 

"I  am  sure  I  don't  know,"  answered  the 
host.  "  But  it  was  currently  reported  on  the 
street  yesterday  afternoon  that  the  Mooreville 
company  had  mutinied,  and  that  the  Baton 
Rouge  Rifles  might  have  to  go  out  there  and 
bring  them  to  a  sense  of  their  duty." 


98  EODIS^EY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

"Well,  if  that  isn't  tlie  most  outrageous 
falsehood  that  was  ever  circulated  about  a  lot 
of  honest  men  I  wouldn't  say  so,"  exclaimed 
Rodney,  who  had  never  in  his  life  been  more 
amazed.  "We  didn't  mutiny.  We  simjily 
refused  to  be  sworn  into  the  service  of  the 
Confederate  States,  and  that  was  something 
we  had  a  right  to  do.  I  will  tell  you  how 
that  story  got  abroad,"  he  added,  suddenly. 
"There's  some  one  in  Moorveville  who  wants 
to  get  us  into  trouble,  and  I  think  I  know^  who 
it  is." 

At  this  moment  the  door  w^as  softly  opened 
and  a  darkey  put  his  head  into  the  room  to 
announce : 

"Da's  a  gentleman  in  de  back  pa' lor  w^ants 
to  see  Moster  Eodney." 


CHAPTER  Y. 

A  GENTLEMAN  to  see  me?"  repeated 
Rodney,  his  surprise  and  indignation 
giving  xDlace  to  a  feeling  of  uneasiness. 
''  Who  is  he  ?     What's  his  name  ?  " 

*'I  dunno,  sah,"  replied  the  servant.  "I 
never  seen  him  round  here  afore." 

Wondering  who  the  visitor  could  be  and 
how  he  knew  where  to  find  him,  seeing  that 
he  and  his  father  had  not  been  in  that  house 
more  than  half  an  hour,  the  Barrington  boy 
arose  and  followed  the  servant  into  the  back 
parlor.  Whom  he  expected  to  meet  when  he 
got  there  it  is  hard  to  tell,  but  it  is  certain 
that  he  felt  greatly  relieved  when  he  found 
that  the  visitor  was  a  Moore ville  boy — a  "stu- 
dent" in  the  telegraph  ofiice.  His  uneasy 
feelings  vanished  at  once  only  to  return 
with  redoubled  force  when  Griffin — that  was 

99 


100  KODXEY,  THE   PAKTISAX. 

the  visitor  s  name — said  in  a  loud,  earnest 
whisper  : 

"  Shut  the  door  tight  and  come  np  close  so 
that  vou  can  hear  everv  word  I  sav.  I  am 
liable  to  oret  mvself  into  the  worst  kind  of  a 
scrai)e  by  trying  to  befriend  you." 

"  The  door  is  all  right,  and  besides  there  are 
no  eavesdroppers  in  this  house,''  answered 
Rodney.  **  What  in  the  world  is  the  matter, 
and  whv  are  you  likelv  to  ^et  vourself  into 
trouble  bv  comins:  here  i  *' 

"  Have  vou  heard  anvthino:  since  vou  have 
been  in  town?"  asked  Griffin,  in  reply.  ''I 
don  t  suppose  any  one  will  bother  you,  seeing 
that  vou  are  alone,  but  if  vour  whole  company 
had  tried  to  go,  you  might  have  been  stopped. 
If  vou  hadn't,  it  wouldn't  have  been  Ran- 
dolpli's  fault." 

••There  now,"  thought  Rodney.  '*!  said 
there  was  some  one  in  Mooreville  who  wanted 
to  get  us  into  trouble,  and  Tom  Randolph 
was  the  verv  fellow  who  came  into  mv 
mind." 

But  he  said  nothing  aloud.  How  did  he 
know    that   young    Randolph    was   the  only 


A    WARNING.  101 

enemy  he  had  in  Moore ville  ?  He  looked  hard 
at  Griffin  and  dropped  into  the  nearest  c?iair. 

^'Randoljjh  is  down  on  everybody  who 
voted  against  him  for  second  lieutenant,"  con- 
tinued Griffin,  "and  he  declared  when  he 
came  home  after  the  election  that  he  would 
break  up  that  comjjany  of  Rangers  if  he  could 
find  any  way  to  do  it." 

'^  He  laid  out  a  pretty  big  job  for  himself," 
said  Rodney,  when  his  visitor  x^aused.  "  How 
did  he  think  he  would  go  to  work  to  accom- 
plish it  T' 

''Any  way  and  every  way.  He  didn't  care 
so  long  as  he  broke  it  up.  You  can't  imagine 
how  tickled  he  was  when  he  heard  that  you 
had  mutinied  and  refused  to  be  sworn  in." 

'*  Did  Randolph  start  that  ridiculous  story 
about  the  mutiny?"  inquired  Rodney. 

'^  I  don't  know  whether  he  set  it  going  or 
not,  but  he  helped  it  along  all  he  could  and 
had  a  good  deal  to  say  about  it,"  answered 
Griffin.  ''Yesterday  afternoon  I  was  in  the 
office  when  he  came  in  and  wrote  a  dispatch  to 
the  Governor  ;  and  as  I  have  got  so  that  I  can 
read  by  sound,  I  had  no  trouble  in  spelling  it 


102  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

out  when  Drummond  the  operator  sent  it  off. 
I  always  do  that  for  practice.  Between  you 
and  me  that  Drummond  is  a  fellow  who  ought 
to  be  booted  out  of  that  position.  He's  just 
too  mean  to  be  of  any  use." 

^'What  was  in  the  dispatch?"  asked 
Kodney. 

"  It  contained  the  information  that  the  Han- 
gers had  mutinied  and  were  about  to  leave  the 
State  in  a  bod  v." 

"That  w^as  a  lie  and  Randolph  knew  it," 
said  Rodney,  hotly.  "But  even  if  we  had 
decided  to  leave  the  State  in  a  body,  is  there 
any  law  to  prevent  it  ?  Such  a  thing  was  pro- 
posed, but  it  was  voted  down  by  a  big 
majority,  and  that  is  why  I  am  obliged  to  go 
alone." 

' '  And  that  brings  me  to  what  I  want  to  tell 
you,"  said  the  operator.  "I  didn't  pay  very 
much  attention  to  that  dispatch,  although 
Drummond  said  that  if  you  tried  to  go  up  the 
river  you  ought  to  be  chucked  into  the  cala- 
boose, the  last  one  of  you ;  but  when  Ran- 
dolph came  in  again  that  evening  and  sent  off 
another  dispatch   that   was    all  about  you^  I 


o 


A    WARNING.  103 

began  to  open  my  ears  and  think  it  was  time  I 
was  giving  you  a  hint." 

"  What  coukl  he  have  to  say  about  me  ?  It 
wasn't  I  who  defeated  him  for  second  lieuten- 
ant." 

"No,  but  you  voted  against  him,  and  the 
company  gave  you  the  position  you  wanted 
without  making  any  fuss  about  it,  and  pre- 
sented you  with  a  splendid  sword,  and  all 
those  things  made  Eandolph  pretty  middling 
mad,  I  can  tell  you." 

"  Did  he  tell  the  Governor  in  his  second  dis- 
patch that  I  was  getting  ready  to  leave  the 
State,  and  that  he  had  better  be  on  the  look- 
out to  stop  me  ? " 

''  Eh  ?  No.  He  didn't  send  the  second  dis- 
patch to  the  Governor.  He  sent  it  to  his 
father's  cotton-factor  in  St.  Louis,  who  is  a 
Yank  so  blue  that  the  blue  will  rub  off." 

"  The— mischief— he— did  !  "  exclaimed  Rod- 
ney, who  began  to  feel  blue  himself  even  if  he 
didn't  look  so.  ''And  what  did  he  have  to 
say  to  that  Yankee  about  me  ? " 

''He  told  him  to  watch  the  steamboats  for 
a  Confederate  bearer  of  dispatches— a  young 


104  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

fellow,  dark  complexioned,  slight  mustaclie, 
dressed  in  citizen's  clothes  and  a  roan  colt  for 
company." 

"  It  is  his  intention  to  have  me  arrested  the 
minute  I  get  into  St.  Louis,  is  it  ?  "  cried  Rod- 
ney, getting  upon  his  feet  and  moving  about 
the  room  with  long,  angr}^  strides. 

"It  looked  that  way  to  me,  and  that's  why 
I  am  here,"  replied  Griffin. 

"I  appreciate  your  friendship,  and  assure 
you  that  I  shall  always  bear  it  in  mind,"  said 
Rodney,  stopping  long  enough  to  give  the 
operator's  hand  a  cordial  gripe  and  shake. 

"That's  all  right,"  said  the  latter.  "I 
haven't  forgotten  the  winter  when  I  was  down 
with  the  chills  and  couldn't  work,  and  that 
mortgage  of  ours  liked  to  have  worried  my 
mother  into  a  sick  bed — " 

"That's  all  right  too,"  Rodney  interposed. 
"I  was  at  school  and  had  nothing  whatever  to 
do  with  it." 

' '  No,  but  your  father  had  something  to  do 
with  it,  and  it's  all  in  the  family.  I  know  it 
is  Randolph's  intention  to  get  you  into  trouble 
with  the  Yankees  if  he  can,  for  I  heard  him 


A    WARNING.  lOo 

tell  Drumraond  so.  And  he  couldn't  liave 
taken  a  better  way  or  a  better  time  to  do  it," 
continued  Griffin.  ' '  If  all  reports  are  true, 
things  are  in  .a  bad  way  in  St.  Louis.  You 
know  there  are  a  good  many  Dutchmen  there, 
and  they  are  mostly  strong  for  the  Union. 
During  one  of  the  riots  they  fired  into  their 
own  ranks  instead  of  into  the  mob,  and  that 
made  them  so  wild  with  rage  that  they  are 
ready  to  hang  every  Confederate  they  can  get 
their  hands  on,  without  judge  or  jury." 

"  A  bearer  of  dispatches,"  repeated  Rodney, 
once  more  seating  himself  in  his  chair.  "  And 
did  Drummond  send  off  that  telegram  when  he 
knew  there  wasn't  a  word  of  truth  in  it  ? " 

'^  Course.  Don't  I  tell  you  that  he's  too 
mean  for  any  use  ?  He  and  Randolph  are  and 
always  have  been  cronies,  and  I  heard  them 
talking  and  laughing  over  the  dispatches  as 
though  they  thought  they  were  going  to  get  a 
big  joke  on  you." 

"What  other  thing  has  Drummond  done 
that' s  mean  ? ' '  inquired  Rodney. 

"  Let's  talk  about  something  else,"  replied 
Griffin,  evasively. 


106  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


a 


Just  as  you  please,"  answered  the  Bar- 
rington  boy.  "But  I  shouldn't  think  you 
would  take  the  trouble  to  come  to  Baton 
Rouge  and  run  the  risk  of  losing  your  position 
in  the  telegraph  office,  unless  you  are  willing 
to  trust  me  entirely.  I  asked  for  information 
and  not  out  of  curiosity.  If  Drummond 
attempts  any  foolishness  with  you,  my  father 
may  be  able  to  checkmate  him." 

"Well,  then,"  said  the  operator,  with  some 
hesitation.  "  You  musn't  betray  me.  Drum- 
mond has  sent  the  names  of  all  the  Union  men 
in  and  around  Moore ville  to  the  Governor." 

"  Why,  I  didn't  suppose  there  were  any 
Union  men  there,"  exclaimed  Rodney,  who 
was  greatly  surprised. 

"Of  course  you  didn't.  You  wouldn't  ex- 
pect one  of  them  to  make  himself  known  to  as 
hot  a  Confederate  as  you  are  known  to  be, 
would  you?  There  are  plenty  of  people  at 
home  who  don't  suspect  such  a  thing,  but  I 
don't  mind  telling  you  of  it,  for  you  are 
not  mean  enough  to  persecute  a  man  who  dif- 
fers from  you  in  opinion." 

Rodney  thrust  both    hands    deep  into  his 


A    WARNING.  107 

pockets,  slid  farther  down  in  Ms  chair, 
and  fastened  his  eyes  on  the  carpet  with- 
out saying  a  word.  What  would  his  visitor 
think  of  him  if  he  knew  that  he  had  been 
mean  enough  to  do  just  that  very  thing — that 
in  order  to  punish  his  cousin  for  his  Union 
sentiments  and  drive  him  away  from  the 
academy,  he  had  written  a  letter  to  Budd 
Goble  which  came  within  an  ace  of  bringing 
Marcy  Gray  a  terrible  beating  ?  The  matter 
came  vividly  to  Rodney's  recollection  now, 
and  he  w^ould  have  given  everything  he  ever 
hoped  to  possess  if  he  could  have  blotted  out 
that  one  act. 

'^Yes,  there  are  Union  men  in  Mooreville," 
continued  Griffin,  getting  upon  his  feet  and 
buttoning  up  his  coat,  ''  and  Randolph  and  his 
friend  Drummond  are  laying  their  plans  to 
bring  sorrow  of  some  sort  to  them.  There  was 
still  another  telegram  which  was  sent  to  this 
place." 

''Was  there  anything  in  it  about  me?" 
inquired  Rodney. 

"It  was  all  about  you.  In  it  Drummond 
asked  the  operator  here  to  keep  an  eye  on  you 


108  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

if  lie  could  conveniently,  and  send  word  to 
Mooreville  wlien  you  went  up  the  river  and 
what  boat  you  went  on.  Then  he  will  send  off 
another  dispatch  to  that  St.  Louis  Yankee, 
who  will  know  just  when  to  expect  you." 

''  He  means  to  be  revenged  on  me  for  voting 
as  I  did,  doesn't  he?"  mused  Rodney.  '^I 
shall  not  have  any  dispatches  about  me,  but  I 
don't  want  to  be  arrested.  It  would  delay  me 
just  that  much,  and  might  make  it  impossible 
for  me  to  get  out  of  the  city." 

"Really  I  must  be  going,"  exclaimed 
Griffin,  '*or  my  cousin,  who  thinks  I  came 
here  on  purpose  to  see  him,  will  have  his 
suspicions  aroused.  Can  you  show  me  the 
way  out  ?  Remember  I  musn't  be  seen  by  any- 
body." 

The  Barrington  boy,  who  was  as  well  ac- 
quainted in  that  house  as  he  was  in  his 
father's,  led  the  way  to  the  front  door,  and 
after  again  thanking  his  visitor  for  the  trouble 
he  had  taken  and  the  friendship  he  had  shown 
in  warning  him  of  his  danger,  he  ran  down  the 
steps  to  the  sidewalk  and  looked  in  both  direc- 
tions.     There    was    no    one    in    sight ;    and 


A    WAENING.  109 

having  made  sure  of  it  Eodney  motioned  to 
G.riffin,  who  quickly  disappeared  in  the  dark- 
ness. Then  Rodney  went  slowly  back  into  the 
house  and  entered  the  room  in  which  he  had 
left  his  father.  He  told  him  and  their  host 
everything,  even  at  the  risk  of  hearing  Mr. 
Gray  declare  that  he  should  not  stir  one  step 
toward  St.  Louis.  That  was  just  Avhat  the  boy 
thought  his  father  would  say,  and  he  was 
ready  for  it,  having  hit  upon  a  plan  which  he 
was  sure  would  throw  his  enemies  off  the 
scent. 

Rodney's  father  was  as  angry  at  Randolph 
and  Drummond  as  he  was  grateful  to  young 
Griffin  for  the  service  he  had  rendered  his  son, 
but  all  he  had  to  say  about  it  was  that  he 
would  remember  them  all.  And  we  may 
anticipate  events  a  little  by  saying  that  he 
kept  his  word  so  far  as  Griffin  was  concerned. 
When  the  Confederate  Congress  passed  that 
famous  conscription  law  "robbing  the  cradle 
and  the  grave,"  that  is  to  say,  making  every 
able-bodied  man  in  the  South  between  the 
ages  of  seventeen  and  fifty  subject  to  military 
duty,  it  did  not  neglect    to  provide  for  the 


110  EODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

exemption  of  those  who  were  able  to  pay  for 
it,  thus  proving  the  truth  of  the  assertion  that 
the  war  of  the  rebellion  was  a  rich  man's  war 
and  a  poor  man' s  fight.  The  fact  that  young 
Griffin  was  the  sole  support  of  a  widowed 
mother  made  not  the  slightest  difference  to 
the  Confederate  enrolling  officers,  who  would 
have  forced  him  into  the  army  if  Rodney's 
father  had  not  come  to  his  relief.  According 
to  the  terms  of  the  law  there  was  one  exempt 
on  every  plantation  employing  more  than  fif- 
teen slaves.  Mr.  Gray  owned  four  such  plan- 
tations and  he  gave  young  Griffin  charge  of 
one  of  them,  at  the  same  time  handing  over 
the  hundred  pounds  of  bacon  and  beef  that 
Griffin  would  have  been  obliged  to  pay  as  the 
price  of  his  exemption.  Of  course  this  made 
Randolph  angry,  and  the  burden  of  his  com- 
plaint was : 

"Griffin  is  Union  and  I  know  it;  and  old 
Gray  has  no  business  to  shield  him  from  the 
conscription  in  that  fashion.  My  friend 
Drummond  had  to  run  wdien  the  Yankees 
came  here,  and  now  he  is  starving  in  the  Con- 
federate army  ;  and  is  this  Griffin  any  better 


A    WARNING.  Ill 

than  Drummond  ?  My  exemption  is  all  right. 
My  father  is  free  by  reason  of  his  age,  and  I 
must  look  out  for  the  plantation  ;  but  Griffin 
ought  to  be  made  to  fight.  I'd  give  something 
handsome  to  know  what  made  those  Grays 
take  such  a  shine  to  him  all  of  a  sudden." 

The  knowledge  that  he  was  watched,  and 
that  the  telegraph  was  to  be  brought  into 
operation  against  him,  did  not  keejJ  Rodney 
Gray  awake  ^\q  minutes  after  his  head 
touched  the  pillow.  He  slept  soundly,  ate  a 
hearty  breakfast,  and  in  company  with  his 
father  took  his  way  to  the  telegrax)h  office  and 
wrote  a  dispatch,  addressing  it  to  Dick  Gra- 
ham's father  at  St.  Louis.  Mr.  Graham  did 
not  live  in  the  city.  His  home  was  near 
Springfield  ;  but  Rodney  knew  from  something 
Dick  said  in  his  letter  that  his  father  was 
sojourning  in  St.  Louis  watching  the  progress 
of  events.  His  first  telegram  had  reached  Mr. 
Graham  all  right,  and  it  was  likely  this  one 
would  also.  He  made  a  great  show  of  writing- 
it,  and  even  read  it  to  his  father  in  a  tone  loud 
enough  for  the  operator  to  hear  it. 

Will  start  for  St.  Louis  by  first  steamer, 


U    ( 


112  RODNEY,  THE   PAKTISAN. 

and  shall  be  glad  to  have  you  meet  me  at  the 
wharf -boat,'  "  was  what  he  wrote  in  the  dis- 
patch. "Of  course  Mr.  Graham  can  easily 
find  out  what  boats  are  due  in  the  city,  and 
will  know  about  what  time  to  expect  me. 
How  much?" 

The  operator,  who  seemed  to  take  a  deeper 
interest  in  this  dispatch  and  the  sender  than 
operators  usually  take  in  such  things,  named 
the  price  and  gazed  curiously  at  Rodney  as 
the  latter  brought  out  his  purse  and  looked 
for  the  money. 

"That's  the  fellow  Drummond  wants  us  to 
watch,"  said  he  to  his  assistant,  when  Rodney 
and  his  father  were  out  of  hearing.  "I  won- 
der what's  up  ?  Do  you  suppose  he  has  been 
stealing  anything?  He's  got  a  handful  of 
gold — big  pieces,  too." 

"So  far  so  good,"  said  Rodney,  as  he  and 
his  father  went  out  upon  the  street.  "Now 
let  that  Yankee  cotton-factor  watch  the  St. 
Louis  wharf -boats  ii  he  wants  to,  and  see  how 
much  he  will  make  by  it.  I  knew  I  could 
throw  them  off  the  scent." 

"  You  may  not  have  done  it  as  completely 


A    WAENING.  113 

as  you  think,"  replied  Mr.  Gray,  '^  I  shall  not 
draw  an  easy  breath  until  I  hear  that  you  are 
safe  under  Mr.  Graham' s  roof.  When  you  get 
aboard  the  steamer  be  careful  what  acquaint- 
ances you  make.  Take  warning  by  what  Grif- 
fin told  you  last  night  and  take  nobody  into 
your  confidence." 

That  afternoon  their  host  learned,  through 
business  channels,  that  the  steamer  Mollie 
Able  w^as  in  New  Orleans  loading  for  St.  Louis, 
and  might  be  expected  to  arrive  at  Baton 
Rouge  bright  and  early  on  the  following  morn- 
ing, provided  she  was  not  impressed  by  the 
Confederate  quarter-master.  She  came  on 
time,  and  Kodney  afterward  learned  that  he 
was  fortunate  in  securing  passage  on  her,  for 
she  was  one  of  the  last  boats  that  went  up  the 
river.  Navigation  was  closed  soon  after  she 
reached  St.  Louis,  and  all  communication  be- 
ween  the  North  and  South  was  cut  off  by  the 
Confederate  batteries  that  were  erected  along 
the  Mississippi.  The  telegraph  lines,  which 
up  to  this  time  had  been  used  by  both  Union 
men  and  rebels  alike,  were  seized  by  the 
Government ;  and  if  Rodney  had  been  a  week 


114  KODNEY,  THE   PAETISAN. 


> 


later,  he  would  not  liave  been  able  to  get  tliat 
dispatch  through  to  St.  Louis.  But  that 
would  not  have  interfered  with  his  arrange- 
ments, for  he  did  not  now  expect  to  meet 
Dick's  father  in  St.  Louis.  He  had  used  the 
telegram  simjDly  to  deceive  Tom  Randolph  and 
the  Baton  Rouge  operators. 

Rodney  Gray  and  his  father,  as  well  as  the 
roan  colt  and  a  goodly  supply  of  hay  and 
grain  that  had  been  provided  for  him,  Avere  on 
the  levee  Avaiting  for  the  Mollie  Able  Avhen  she 
turned  in  for  the  landing,  and  Rodney  did  not 
fail  to  notice  that  in  the  crowd  of  lookers-on 
there  AA^as  one  young  felloAv  who  made  it  a 
point  to  keep  pretty  close  to  him,  although  he 
did  not  appear  to  do  so  intentionally. 

*'It's  one  of  the  operators  Randolph  set  to 
watch  me,"  he  Avhispered  to  his  father.  "I 
hope  he  Avill  follow  us  uj)  to  the  clerk's  office 
and  stand  around  Avithin  earshot  AA^hile  I  buy 
my  ticket." 

His  Avish  Avas  gratified,  for  that  AA^as  just 
Avhat  the  young  operator  had  been  sent  there 
for — to  find  out  whether  or  not  Rodney 
secured  passage  to  St.  Louis.     When  the  latter 


A    WARNING.  115 

had  seen  his  horse  and  forage  disposed  of  on 
the  main  deck  he  ascended  to  the  office,  and 
there  was  the  spy,  standing  with  his  hands 
behind  his  back  and  his  gaze  directed  across 
the  river.  He  stood  close  to  the  rail,  but  still 
he  could  hear  every  word  that  passed  between 
Eodney  and  the  clerk  ;  and  when  the  latter 
turned  away  with  his  ticket  in  his  hand,  the 
spy  ran  down  the  stairs  and  started  for  his 
office  to  tell  Drummond  the  Moorville  operator 
that  he  had  seen  Rodney  Gray  pay  his  passage 
to  St.  Louis. 

"  Good-by,  my  boy,"  said  Mr.  Gray,  when 
the  steamer's  bell  rang  out  the  warning  that 
the  gang-plank  was  about  to  be  hauled  in. 

"  Write  to  us  as  often  as  you  can,  and  re- 
member your  mother's  parting  words.  As 
often  as  I  hear  from  you  I  shall  expect  to  hear 
that  you  did  your  duty.  Eem ember  too,  that 
you  are  fighting  in  a  just  cause.  The  North 
has  forced  this  thing  upon  us,  and  we  would 
be  the  veriest  cowards  in  the  world  if  we  did 
not  defend  ourselves.     Good-by." 

A  moment  later  Rodney  Gray  was  standing 
alone  on  the  boiler  deck,  waving  his  handker- 


116  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


chief  to  Ms  father,  and  the  MolUe  Abie's  bow 
was  swinging  rapidly  away  from  the  landing. 
Young  as  he  was  the  boy  had  traveled  a  good 
deal  and  was  accustomed  to  being  among 
strangers  ;  but  now  he  was  homesick,  and 
when  it  was  too  late  he  began  to  wonder  at  the 
step  he  had  so  hastily  taken,  and  ask  himself 
how  he  could  possibly  endure  a  whole  year's 
separation  from  his  father  and  mother. 

^Tve  played  a  fool's  part,"  thought  he, 
bitterly,  "  and  now  I  am  going  to  reap  a  fool's 
reward.  Why  didn't  I  stay  with  the  company 
and  share  its  fortunes,  as  I  said  I  was  going  to 
do,  or  why  didn't  father  put  his  foot  down  and 
tell  me  I  couldn'  t  go  to  Missouri  ?  Heigh-ho  ]_ 
This  is  what  comes  of  being  patriotic." 

Then  Rodney  tilted  his  chair  back  on  its 
hind  legs,  x^^^^^^^^  ^^is  feet  on  the  top  of  the 
railing  and  fell  to  wondering  what  had  become 
of  the  rest  of  the  boys  in  his  class,  and 
Avhether  or  not  all  the  Union  fellows  had  been 
as  true  to  their  colors  as  his  cousin  Marcy 
Gray  had  tried  to  be.  Some  of  the  Barrington 
students  who  were  strong  for  the  Union  were 
from  Missouri,  and  they  did  not  believe  in 


A    WARNING.  117 

neutrality  as  Dick  Graham  did.  They  be- 
lieved in  keeping  the  rebellious  States  in  the 
Union  by  force  of  arms  if  they  would  not  stay 
in  peaceably.  Had  they  joined  Lyon's  army, 
and  would  he  and  Dick  have  to  meet  them  on 
the  fielji  of  battle  ?  He  hoped  not,  but  if  he 
did,  he  would  be  careful  to  follow  the  advice 
Ed  Billings  gave  his  cousin  Marcy  and  shoot 
high. 

The  journey  up  the  river  was  an  uneventful 
one.  The  tables  were  pretty  well  filled  at 
meal  time,  but  Rodney  coukl  not  have  been 
more  alone  if  he  had  been  stranded  on  some 
sandbar  in  the  middle  of  the  stream.  His 
horse  was  the  only  companion  he  had,  and  the 
animal  seemed  to  be  as  lonely  and  homesick 
as  his  master  was.  Rodney  visited  him  a 
dozen  times  a  day  to  make  sure  that  he  did 
not  want  for  anything,  and  the  colt  always 
rubbed  his  head  against  the  boy's  shoulder 
and  told  him  by  other  signs,  as  plainly  as  a 
horse  could  tell  it,  that  he  was  glad  to  see 
him.  There  was  an  utter  lack  of  that  socia- 
bility and  unrestrained  intercourse  among  the 
passengers  that  Rodney  had  always  noticed 


118  KODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

during  his  trips  up  and  down  the  river.  Some 
of  them  were  solitary  and  alone  like  himself, 
while  others,  having  formed  themselves  into 
little  groups,  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  rest 
of  the  passengers,  but  kept  entirely  on  their 
own  side  of  the  boiler  deck.  Rodney  thought 
they  acted  as  though  they  were  afraid  of  one 
another.  This  state  of  affairs  continued  until 
the  MolUe  Able  reached  Memphis,  where  the 
Confederates  were  building  a  fleet  of  gunboats, 
and  then  a  remark  made  by  one  of  the  passen- 
gers broke  down  all  reserve,  and  showed  some 
of  them,  Rodney  Gray  among  the  rest,  that 
they  had  been  keeping  aloof  from  their 
friends. 

''When  these  boats  are  completed,"  Rod- 
ney heard  the  passenger  say  to  one  of  his  com- 
panions, "  you  will  see  fun  on  this  river.  The 
first  point  of  assault  will  be  Cairo,  and  then 
we'll  go  on  up  and  take  St.  Louis  aw^ay  from 
Lyon's  Dutchmen.  Those  Missourians  are  a 
pretty  set  of  cowards  to  let  a  lot  of  ignorant 
foreigners  take  their  city  out  of  their  hands." 

Well,  they  couldn't  help  it,  and  besides, 
the  loyal  Germans  were  by  no  means  as  igno- 


A    WARNING.  119 

rant  as  some  of  tlie  men  who  fought  against 
them.  They  were  good  soldiers  and  hard  to 
whip  ;  and  it  was  owing  to  their  patriotism 
and  courage  that  such  fellows  as  Rodney  Gray 
and  Dick  Graham  did  not  succeed  in  their 
efforts  to  "run  the  Yankees  out  of  Missouri." 
And  as  for  the  Confederate  gunboats  of  which 
such  great  things  were  expected,  they  were, 
with  a  single  exceiption,  destroyed  in  a  fight 
of  less  than  an  hour's  duration  by  the  Union 
fleet  under  the  command  of  Flag  Officer  Davis. 
The  Van  Dorn  alone  escaped,  and  she  was 
never  heard  of  afterward. 

When  the  Mollie  Able  resumed  her  journey 
Rodney  waited  and  watched  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  question  the  outspoken  Confederate, 
for  he  believed  he  could  trust  him.  As  he 
had  often  told  himself,  he  was  "going  it 
blind,"  and  a  little  information  from  some  one 
who  knew  how  things  were  going  on  up  the 
river,  might  be  of  the  greatest  use  to  him. 
The  opportunity  he  sought  was  presented  the 
very  next  day.  While  he  was  feeding  his 
horse  the  Confederate  sauntered  along  and 
stopped  and  looked  at  the  colt  with  the  air 


120  KODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

of  a  man  who  knew  a  good  thing  when  he 
saw  it. 

''There  ought  to  be  some  'go'  in  that  fel- 
low," said  he. 

"I  think  there  is,"  replied  Rodney.  "But 
I  have  never  tried  him  at  his  best,  and  don't 
expect  to  unless  the  Yankees  get  after  me." 

"  Well,  if  you  keep  on  up  the  river  you  will 
go  right  where  the  Yankees  are,"  said  the 
gentleman,  Avho  looked  a  little  surprised.  "  If 
you  are  on  our  side  what  are  you  doing  here  ? " 

"  Pardon  me,  but  I  might  ask  you  the  same 
question,"  answered  the  boy  cautiously. 

"  My  business  is  no  secret,"  was  the  smiling 
reply.  "  I  am  going  up  into  Ohio  after  my 
family.  I  want  to  get  them  home  while  I  can. 
All  our  highways  will  be  shut  up  after  a 
while." 

"  Do  you  think  there  will  be  any  fighting  ?  " 

"  Lots  of  it,  and  I  have  promised  to  help  " ; 
and  as  the  man  said  this  he  put  his  hand  into 
his  pocket  and  drew  out  an  official  envelope. 
He  looked  around  the  deck  to  make  sure  that 
there  was  no  one  within  earshot,  and  then  pro- 
duced a  printed  document  which  he  unfolded 


A    WARjS^ING.  121 

and  liand'ed  over  for  Rodney's  inspection. 
"  I  knew  you  were  a  Southerner  the  minute  I 
saw  you,  and  have  several  times  been  on  tho 
point  of  speaking  to  you,  for  you  seemed 
lonesome  and  downhearted,"  he  continued, 
'^But  when  one  is  about  to  beard  the  lion  ir* 
his  den  as  I  am,  it  behooves  him  to  be  careful 
whom  he  addresses." 

''  That  was  the  reason  I  kept  to  myself," 
answered  Hodney,  handing  back  the  paper 
which  proved  that  his  new  acquaintance  Avas  a 
captain  in  the  Confederate  army.  "I  should 
think  you  would  be  afraid  to  have  that  com- 
mission about  you.  I  left  all  my  soldier 
things  at  home." 

*' I  reckon  I  am  safe  now,  but  I  might  not 
be  a  week  hence,"  said  the  captain.  ''Who 
are  you  any  way,  if  it  is  a  fair  question,  and 
where  are  you  going  ?  " 

E-odney  explained  in  a  few  hasty  words,  and 
was  sorry  to  hear  the  captain  declare,  as  he 
shook  his  finger  at  him  : 

"You  are  making  a  great  mistake.  The 
place  for  a  young  man  with  a  military  educa- 
tion is  in  the  regular  army  ;  not  the  volunteers, 


122  UODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


understand,  but  the  regulars,  wlio  will  be  con- 
tinued in  the  service  after  our  independence 
has  been  acknowledged.  I  am  surprised  that 
your  friends  didn't  point  that  out  to  you." 

"I  have  gone  too  far  along  this  road  to  back 
out  now,"  replied  Rodney.  "We'll  get  by 
Cairo  all  right,  wont  we  ?  " 

"I  think  so.  There  have  been  no  restric- 
tions placed  upon  travel  yet  that  I  have 
heard  of." 

"  How  about  Cape  Girardeau  1 " 

"That  place  is  garrisoned.  You  mustn't 
think  of  getting  off  there.  How  would  you 
get  through  the  lines  without  a  pass  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  must  get  off  somew^here  along  the 
Missouri  shore,  for  it  wouldn't  be  safe  for  me 
to  go  on  to  St.  Louis." 

"  Of  course  it  wouldn't.  That  Union  cotton- 
factor  would  have  you  arrested  the  minute  you 
put  your  foot  on  the  levee.  I'll  tell  you  what 
I'll  do,"  said  the  captain,  after  thinking  a 
moment.  "  The  first  clerk,  with  whom  I  have 
a  slight  acquaintance,  is  solid,  and  I'll  make  it 
my  business  to  ask  him  if  we  are  going  to  land 
anywhere  on  the  Missouri  side  between  Cape 


A    WARNING.  123 

Girardeau  and  St.  Louis.  If  we  are,  I'll  tip 
you  the  wink,  and  you  can  be  ready  to  go 
asliore." 

''Thank  you,  sir,"  said  Rodney,  gratefully. 

"That  young  chap  has  no  idea  what  he  is 
going  into,"  said  the  captain,  after  he  had 
told  Rodney's  story  to  some  of  his  friends  on 
the  boiler  deck.  ' '  It's  neighbor  against  neigh- 
bor all  through  the  southern  and  western  parts 
of  Missouri,  and  for  a  week  or  two  past  there 
has  been  the  worst  kind  of  a  partisan  warfare 
going  on.  How  he  is  going  to  get  through  I 
don't  know,  for  if  he  meets  an  armed  man  on 
the  way  how  is  he  going  to  tell  whether  he  is 
Union  or  Confederate  1 " 

There  was  but  one  opinion  expressed  when 
the  captain  finished  his  story,  and  that  was 
that  Rodney  Gray  was  a  foolhardy  young 
fellow. 


CHAPTER  yi. 

UNDER    SUSPICION. 

FROM  that  time  forward  Rodney  Gray  had 
no  reason  to  complain  of  being  lonely. 
Captain  Howard — that  was  the  name  of  his 
new  acquaintance — introduced  him  to  more 
than  a  dozen  gentleman,  all  of  whom  were 
enthusiastic  rebels  and  firm  in  their  belief  that 
if  the  South  did  not  have  a  "  walk  over"  she 
would  have  the  next  thing  to  it,  for  there  was 
no  fight  to  sjjeak  of  in  the  Northern  peoj)le. 
They  told  Rodney  that  while  they  gloried  in 
his  pluck,  they  were  afraid  he  had  undertaken 
more  than  he  could  accomplish. 

It  may  seem  strange  to  some  of  our  readers 
that  these  enemies  of  the  government  should 
have  the  audacity  to  show  their  faces  among 
loyal  men,  and  that  the  authorities  should  per- 
mit them  to  go  and  come  whenever  they  felt  like 
it,  but  stranger  things  than  this  were  being  done 
in  the  East,  and  right  under  the  noses  of  the 

124 


UNDER  SUSPICION.  125 

President  and  his  cabinet.  Rebel  agents  in 
Washington  kept  their  friends  in  the  South 
posted  in  all  that  was  said  and  done  at  the 
capital,  and  Commander  (afterward  Admiral) 
Semraes  had  made  a  business  trip  through  the 
Northern  States,  purchasing  large  quantities  of 
percussion  caps  which  ' '  were  sent  by  express 
without  any  disguise  to  Montgomery,"  making 
contracts  for  artillery,  powder  and  other  muni- 
tions of  war,  as  well  as  for  a  complete  set  of 
machinery  for  rifling  cannon,  and  had  searched 
the  harbor  of  New  York  in  the  hoj^e  of  finding 
a  steamer  or  two  that  might  be  armed  and  used 
for  coast  defense.  None  of  these  people  were 
molested,  and  that  was  one  thing  that  led  the 
Southerners  to  believe  that  the  North  would 
not  fight. 

Cairo  was  reached  in  due  time,  but  there 
was  little  in  or  around  the  jDlace  to  indicate 
that  there  was  a  Avar  at  hand  except  the  out- 
lines of  a  small  fort  which  was  being  thrown 
up  to  command  the  river  and  Bird's  Point  on 
the  Missouri  shore.  There  were  a  few  soldiers 
strolling  about  on  the  levee,  and  at  that  time 
the  garrison  numbered  six  hundred  and  fifty 


126  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

men.  A  few  months  later  there  was  a  much 
larger  force  in  Cairo,  and  among  the  blue 
coats  there  was  one  who  was  often  seen  walk- 
ing along  the  levee  with  his  hands  behind  him 
and  his  eyes  fastened  thoughtfully  upon  the 
ground.  He  generally  wore  an  old  linen  dus- 
ter, a  black  slouch  hat,  and  a  pair  of  light 
blue  pants  thrust  into  the  tops  of  heavy  boots 
which  were  seldom  blacked,  but  often  splashed 
with  Cairo  mud.  But  everybody  stepped 
respectfully  aside  to  let  him  pass,  and  the 
spruce  young  staff  officers  never  failed  to 
salute.     It  was  General  Grant. 

Once  more  the  Mollie  Able  swung  out  into 
the  stream,  and  at  the  end  of  half  an  hour 
rounded  the  point  below  the  fort  and  resumed 
her  journey  up  the  Mississippi.  Now  Rodney 
Gray  began  to  show  signs  of  excitement. 
Every  turn  of  the  paddle  wheels  brought  him 
nearer  to  the  place  where  he  must  leave  the 
boat,  and  the  new-made  friends  who  had 
done  so  much  to  cheer  him  up  since  they 
found  out  who  and  what  he  was,  and  set  out 
alone  on  a  journey  of  nearly  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles. 


UNDER   SUSPICION.  127 

''Being  a  born  Southerner  jou  are  accus- 
tomed to  tlie  saddle,  and  the  ride  itself  would 
be  nothing  but  a  pleasure  trip  ;  but  there  are 
the    people   you   are    likely  to   meet  on   the 
way,"   said  Captain  Howard,  seating  himself 
by  Rodnej^'s  side  as  the  3follle  Able  rounded 
the  point.     "Are  you  armed  ?  " 
The  boy  replied  that  he  had  a  revolver. 
"  You  may  need  it,"  continued  the  captain. 
''You  see  the  pro-slavery  men  and  abolition- 
ists are  scattered    all    over    the  State,  and  I 
don't  believe  you  can  find  a  town  or  village  in 
it  that  is  not  divided  into  two  hostile  camps. 
That's  where  I  am  afraid    you  are  going  to 
have  trouble,  and  you  must  be  all  things  to  all 
men  until  you  find  out  who  you  are  talking 
to.     N"ow  here  are  two  letters  of  introduction 
that  one  of  my  friends  gave  me  for  you  this 
morning,  and  they  are  addressed    to  parties 
living  near    Springfield,   one    of   whom    is    a 
Union  man  and  the  other  a  Confederate.     You 
must  use  them — " 

"Must  I  ask  favors  of  a  Union  man  and  then 
turn  about  and  fight  him  ?"  exclaimed  Rodney. 
The  captain  shrugged  his  shoulders. 


]28  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

*'You  want  to  get  tlirougb,  don't  you?" 
said  he.  ''All's  fair  in  war  times,  and  if  I 
were  in  your  place,  and  a  reference  to  this 
Springfield  Union  man  would  take  me  in 
safety  through  a  community  of  Yankee  sym- 
pathizers, I  should  not  hesitate  to  use  his 
name.  If  you  fall  in  with  some  of  our  own 
people  and  they  suspect  your  loyalty,  why 
then  you  can  use  the  name  of  the  Confederate. 
It's  all  right." 

The  captain  was  called  away  at  that  mo- 
ment, and  Rodne}^,  glancing  at  the  envelopes 
he  held  in  his  hand,  was  somewhat  startled  to 
find  that  one  of  them  was  addressed  to  Eras- 
tus  Percival. 

"I  wonder  if  that  can  be  Tom  Percival's 
father,"  said  he.  "  If  I  thought  it  was,  I 
wouldn't  present  this  letter  to  him  for  all  the 
money  there  is  in  Missouri.  He  would  turn 
me  over  to  the  Yankees  at  once." 

We  have  had  occasion  to  speak  of  Tom  Per- 
cival  just  once,  and  that  was  during  the  sham 
fight  which  was  started  in  the  lower  hall  of  the 
Barrington  Academy  to  give  Dick  Graham  a 
chance  to  steal  the  Union  flag  from  the  colo- 


UNDER  SUSPICIOl^.  129 

ners'room.  We  then  referred  to  the  fact  that 
Tom's  father  had  cast  his  vote  against  seces- 
sion with  one  hand  while  holding  a  cocked 
revolver  in  the  other.  Rodney,  of  course,  was 
not  sure  that  this  letter  of  introduction  was 
addressed  to  this  particular  Percival,  but  still 
he  had  no  desire  to  make  the  gentleman's 
acquaintance  if  he  could  help  it.  While  he 
was  turning  the  matter  over  in  his  mind,  the 
captain  of  the  Mollie  Able  stepped  out  of  the 
clerk's  office  and  tapped  him  on  the  shoulder. 

''The  very  best  thing  I  can  do  for  you," 
said  he,  ''  is  to  set  you  ashore  at  Cedar  Bluff 
landing." 

Rodney  was  surprised,  but  it  was  clear  to 
him  that  the  captain  knew  who  he  was  and 
where  he  wanted  to  go. 

"  There  are  only  a  few  ]3eople  who  live  there, 
and  they  are  principally  wood-cutters,"  con- 
tinued the  skipper.  ''But  they  are  true  as 
steel,  and  you  can  trust  them  with  your  life. 
I  have  bought  wood  of  them  for  years  and 
know  them  like  a  book.  I  will  go  ashore  with 
you  and  give  you  a  good  send-off.  We  shall 
get  there  about  ten  o'clock  to-night." 


130  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


> 


■  Rodney  opened  his  lips  to  thank  the  cap- 
tain for  his  kindness,  but  he  was  gone.  The 
old  steamboat-man  sympathized  ^Yith  the 
South,  and  Captain  Howard  and  his  friends 
had  found  it  out,  and  induced  him  to  do  what 
he  could  to  help  Rodney  escape  the  expectant 
Yankee  cotton-factor  at  St.  Louis.  The  boy 
laughed  aloud  when  he  thought  how  aston- 
ished and  angry  Tom  Randolph  would  be  to 
learn  that  he  had  Avasted  time  and  telegrams 
to  no  purpose.  He  passed  the  rest  of  the  day 
in  company  with  Captain  Howard  and  his 
friends,  nearly  all  of  whom  held  some  position 
of  trust  under  the  new  government,  and  at 
nine  o'clock,  in  obedience  to  a  significant  Avink 
and  nod  from  the  skipper,  he  went  below  and 
put  the  saddle  and  bridle  on  his  horse.  Just 
then  the  whistle  sounded  for  Cedar  Bluff  land- 
ing, and  some  of  the  j)assengers  came  down  to 
bid  him  good-by  and  see  him  safely  ashore. 

'^  A  boy  Avith  your  ability  and  pluck  ought 
to  make  his  mark  in  the  service,  and  I  Avish  I 
could  keep  track  of  you,"  said  Captain  Hoav- 
ard,  giA'ing  Rodney's  hand  a  cordial  shake. 
''But  I  shall  most  likely  be  ordered   East, 


UNDER   SUSPICION.  131 

hundreds  of  miles  away  from  here,  and  possi- 
bly I  may  never  hear  of  you  again  ;  but  I  shall 
often  think  of  you.     Good-by,  and  good  luck." 

This  was  the  way  in  which  all  his  new 
friends  took  leave  of  him,  and  if  good  wishes 
were  all  that  were  needed  to  bring  him  safely 
through,  Rodney  would  have  had  no  fears  of 
the  future.  When  the  Mollie  Abie's  bow 
touched  the  bank  and  a  line  had  been  thrown 
out,  a  gang-plank  was  shoved  ashore,  and  the 
skiiDper  came  down  from  the  hurricane  deck  to 
give  his  passenger  a  "  send-off."  The  blazing 
torch,  which  one  of  the  deck-hands  had  placed 
in  the  steamer's  bow,  threw  a  flickering  light 
upon  half  a  dozen  long-haired,  roughly 
dressed  men  who  had  been  brought  to  the 
bank  by  the  sound  of  the  whistle,  and  who 
gazed  in  surprise  when  they  saw  a  stout  negro 
coming  off  with  Rodney's  trunk  on  his  shoul- 
der, followed  by  Rodney  himself,  who  was 
leading  the  roan  colt.  It  wasn't  often  that  a 
passenger  was  landed  in  that  out-of-the-way 
place. 

"Set  the  trunk  down  anywhere,  Sam,  and 
go  aboard.     A  word  with  you,  Jeff,"  said  the 


132  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


) 


Mollie  Able' s  captain,  beckoning  to  tlie  tallest 
and  roughest  looking  man  in  tlie  party. 
''Where's  Price?" 

"Dunno.  Jeff  Thompson  has  just  been 
round  behind  the  Cape  pulling  up  the  rail- 
road, but  some  of  the  Yankee  critter-fellers 
went  out  there  and  run  him  off,"  replied  the 
long-haired  Missourian.  "Last  I  lieared  of 
Price  he  was  down  about  the  Arkansaw  line." 

(The  "Cape"  referred  to  was  the  town  of 
Cape  Girardeau,  and  the  "critter-fellers" 
were  the  Union  cavalry  which  at  that  time  gar- 
risoned the  place.  The  "Arkansaw  line  "  was 
the  southwestern  part  of  Missouri  where  Price 
raised  his  army,  which  grew  in  numbers  the 
nearer  he  marched  with  it  to  the  Missouri  River). 

"That's  bad  news  for  my  young  friend 
here,"  said  the  captain  of  the  Mollie  Able. 
"  Springfield  is  off  in  that  direction,  and  that's 
right  where  he  wants  to  go.  He  is  one  of 
Price's  men,  and  is  anxious  to  find  his  com- 
mander. Say,  Jeff,  you  take  care  of  him  and 
see  him  safely  on  his  Avay,  and  I'll  make  it  all 
right  with  you  when  I  slop  for  my  next  load 
of  wood." 


UNDER   SUSPICION.  133 


u 


It's  all  right  now,  cap'n,"  answered  Jeif. 
"  He'll  be  safe  as  long  as  he  stays  here,  seeing 
that  he's  a  friend  of  your'n,  but  when  he  gets 
back  in  the  country — I  diinno  ;  I  dunno." 

The  steamboat  captain  didn't  know  either, 
but  he  couldn't  stop  to  talk  about  it.  He  had 
done  the  best  he  could  to  keep  Rodney  out  of 
the  clutches  of  that  Yankee  cotton-factor  in 
St.  Louis,  and  now  the  boy  must  look  out  for 
himself.  He  gave  the  latter's  hand  a  hasty 
shake,  told  him  to  keep  a  stiff  upper  lip  and 
give  a  good  account  of  himself  when  he  met 
the  Lincoln  invaders  in  battle,  and  shouted  to 
the  deck-hands  to  "  let  go  and  haul  in."  The 
steamer  gave  him  a  i3arting  salute  from  her 
whistle  as  she  backed  out  into  the  river.  Cap- 
tain Howard  and  his  friends  on  the  boiler 
deck  waved  their  hands  to  him,  and  Rodney 
Avas  left  alone  with  the  wood-choppers.  A 
Northern  boy  would  not  have  been  at  all 
pleased  with  the  situation,  for  they  were  a 
rough  looking  set,  and  probably  there  was  not 
one  among  them  who  did  not  plume  himself 
upon  his  skill  as  a  fighter  ;  but  Rodney  was  not 
afraid  of  them,  for  he  had  seen  such  men  before. 


134  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 


J 


*'One  of  you  felfers  put  that  boss  under 
kiver,  and  stranger,  you  come  with  me,"  said 
Jeff,  raising  Rodney's  trunk  from  the  ground 
and  placing  it  upon  his  shoulder.  "It's  little 
we've  got  to  offer  you,  and  you  look  as 
though  you  might  be  used  to  good  living  ;  but 
you're  welcome  to  such  as  we've  got,  and 
we're  glad  to  see  you.  Now  we'd  like  to  have 
you  tell  us,  if  you  can,  what  all  this  here  furse 
is  about,"  he  went  on,  when  he  had  conducted 
his  guest  into  a  log  cabin  tlmt  stood  at  the  top 
of  the  bank,  and  deposited  the  trunk  beside 
the  open  fire-place.  "  What  made  them  aboli- 
tionists come  down  here  all  of  a  sudden  to 
take  our  niggers  away  from  us  ?  " 

"Because  they  are  envious — jealous  of  our 
prosperity,"  replied  Rodney,  drawing  up  a 
nail  keg  and  seating  himself  upon  it.  "  They 
have  to  work  every  day  and  we  don' t ;  and 
that's  what's  the  matter  with  them.  They 
don't  care  a  cent  for  the  negroes.  They  used 
to  own  slaves  themselves." 

All  the  wood-choppers,  with  the  exception 
of  the  one  avIio  had  taken  it  upon  himself  to 
"put  the  boss  under  kiver,"   had  followed 


UNDER   SUSPICION.  135 

• 

Jeff  and  Rodney  into  the  cabin,  and  tliey 
were  profoundly  astonished  by  tlie  last  words 
that  fell  from  the  boy's  lips.  It  was  a  mat- 
ter of  history  that  was  quite  new  to  them. 

"  Where  be  them  slaves  now  ?  "  asked  Jeff. 
They  were  given  their  freedom." 
Well,  I  always  knowed  them  Yankees  was 
f ules,  but  I  don' t  for  the  life  of  me  see  what 
they  done  that  fur." 

''Oh,  it  wasn't  because  they  w^ere  sorry  for 
the  negro,"  exclaimed  Rodney.  ''It  w^as 
because  they  couldn't  use  him.  They  would 
have  slaves  to-day  if  they  could  make  a  dollar 
by  it.  You  let  the  Yanks  alone  for  that. 
Why,  when  these  troubles  began,  we  didn't 
have  percussion  caps  enough  to  fight  a  battle 
with,  and  Captain  Senimes  went  up  North  and 
bought  a  big  supply ;  and  the  men  of  whom 
he  bought  them  knew  what  he  was  going  to  do 
with  them,  and  offered  to  make  contracts  with 
him  to  send  him  all  he  wanted  and  could 
pay  for." 

"What's  the  reason  they  couldn't  use  the 
niggers  up  there?"  asked  one  of  the  wood- 
choppers. 


136  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

''Because  their  land  is  mostly  mountains 
and  rocks,  and  they  can't  work  it  on  as  a  big  a 
scale  as  we  do,"  replied  Rodney,  trying  to  use 
language  that  his  ignorant  auditors  could 
readily  understand.  "  They  gain  their  living 
by  catching  codfish  and  herring,  and  by  mak- 
ing things,  such  as  shoes  for  the  niggers,  and 
cloth  and  axes  and  machinery  and — Oh,  every- 
thing. And  the  blacks  couldn'  t  do  that  sort 
of  work  so  that  their  owners  could  make  any- 
thing out  of  them,  and  that's  the  reason  they 
let  them  go  free." 

"And  because  they  can't  use  the  niggers  do 
they  say  that  we-uns  musn't  use  'em  nuther  ?  " 
demanded  Jeff,  angrily. 

"That's  it  exactly,"  said  Eodney.  "They 
are  dogs  in  the  manger.  They  can't  eat  the 
hay  themselves  and  they  wont  let  the  critters 
eat  it." 

Although  the  wood-choppers  didn't  quite 
understand  this,  it  was  plain  enough  to  the 
Barrington  boy  that  they  were  impressed  by 
his  words. 

"And  what  are  we-uns  going  to  do  about 
it  ^  "  inquired  Jeff,  after  a  little  pause. 


UNDER  SUSPICION.  137 

''  We're  going  to  dissolve  partnership  witli 
them— break  up  the  firm  and  go  into  business 
for  ourselves,"  reiDlied  Rodney,  throwing  so 
much  enthusiasm  into  his  words  that  he  suc- 
ceeded in  creating  some  excitement  among  the 
wood-choppers.  One,  in  particular,  was  so 
dee]3ly  interested  that  he  pulled  his  nail  keg 
close  in  front  of  the  speaker ;  but  whether  he 
was  listening  to  his  words,  or  making  a  mental 
calculation  of  the  value  of  his  gold  watch 
chain,  Rodney  did  not  think  to  inquire. 

"And  do  they  say  that  we- uns  mustn't  do 
it  ?  "  Jeif  demanded. 

"  You've  hit  it  again,"  was  Rodney's  reply. 
"  That  is  just  what  they  do  say  ;  and  they  say, 
further,  that  they  wont  give  us  our  share  of 
the  goods.  See  how  they  hung  on  to  that  fort 
in  Charleston  Harbor  until  our  gallant  fellows 
made  them  give  it  up  ?  That  fort  belonged  to 
South  Carolina  ;  but  when  she  broke  up  the 
firm,  by  which  I  mean  the  Union,  the  Yanks 
wouldn'  t  give  it  up.  Who  ever  heard  of  such 
impudence  ?" 

"I  never,"  answered  Jeff.  "We  did  lick 
'em  sure  enough,  didn't  we  ?  " 


138  EODNEY,  THE  PAETISAN. 


a 


Of  course  we  did,  and  that  isn't  tlie  worst 
of  it.  We're  going  to  whip  them  as  often  as 
we  get  a  chance  at  them.  But  what  am  I  talk- 
ing about.     The  Yankees  wont  fight." 

' '  Didn'  t  they  have  a  sorter  rucus  up  in  St. 
Louis  ? " 

*' Those  were  not  Yankees.  They  were 
Dutchmen — okl  country  soldiers,  who  don't 
know  enough  about  war  to  keep  them  from 
shooting  into  their  own  men.  Who's  afraid 
of  such  soldiers  ? ' ' 

''We're  mighty  glad  you  stojDped  off  here, 
stranger,"  said  Jeff,  at  length.  "We  didn't 
rightly  know  what  all  the  furse  was  about, 
and  there  wasn't  nobody  w^ho  could  tell  us, 
because  the  steamboat  cap'ns  who  come  here 
for  wood  couldn't  wait  to  talk  about  it.  But 
we  know  now,  and  I  do  think  that  some  on  us 
had  oughter  have  a  hand  in  making  them 
Yankees  stay  where  they  b'long.  I'd  go  in  a 
minute  if  it  wasn't  fur  the  ole  woman  and  the 
young  ones." 

"  I  aint  got  none  of  them  things  to  hold  me 
back,  and  I'll  go  in  your  place,  Jeff,"  said  one 
of  the  wood- cutters.     It  was  the  man  who  had 


ii 


UNDER  SUSPICIO]^.  139 

drawn  his  seat  close  in  front  of  Rodney,  and 
seemed  to  be  so  mucli  interested  in  the  boy's 
watch  chain. 

"AYill  you  go  with  me  and  join  Price?" 
asked  the  latter,  eagerly. 

''I  reckon  I  might  as  well,"  replied  the 
man. 

Do  you  know  the  country  ? " 
Well,  no  ;  I  can't  say  that  I  do.  But  I 
know  where  to  look  to  find  the  road  that  runs 
from  Jackson  to  Hartsville,  forty  miles  this 
side  of  Springfield,  and  when  you  get  there, 
mebbe  you'll  know  where  you  are." 

"No,  I  won't,"  answered  Rodney.  "I 
have  never  been  in  this  part  of  Missouri  be- 
fore. I  have  been  in  St.  Louis  two  or  three 
times,  but  when  I  got  out  of  sight  of  the 
Planters'  House  I  was  lost  completely." 

"  Why,  didn't  the  cap'n  of  the  3foUie  Able 
tell  Jeff  that  you  was  one  of  Price's  men? 
How  could  you  have  jined  him  if  you  haven't 
been  where  he  was  ? ' ' 

Rodney  did  not  at  all  like  the  tone  in  which 
this  question  was  asked,  and  it  w^as  right  on 
the  end  of  his  tongue  to  tell  the  wood-cutter 


140  RODI^EY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

tliat  it  was  none  of  his  business ;  but  on 
second  tliouglit  he  decided  that  that  Avouldn't 
do.  The  man  talked  and  acted  as  if  he  sus- 
pected him  of  something ;  and  if  the  others 
suspected  him  too,  they  might  make  trouble 
for  him.  The  steamboat  captain  did  say  that 
he  was  one  of  Price's  men,  and  Rodney  wished 
now  that  he  hadn'  t  done  it. 

''  I  suppose  I  could  arrange  all  that  by  letter 
or  telegraph,  couldn't  I?"  was  the  answer  he 
made,  as  he  produced  his  note  book  and  took 
from  it  the  dispatch  he  had  received  from 
Dick  Graham's  father,  and  one  of  the  letters 
of  introduction  that  had  been  given  to  him  by 
Captain  Howard.  These  he  passed  over  to  the 
suspicious  wood-cutter,  rightly  believing  that 
the  latter  could  not  read  a  word  of  them. 
' '  You  will  see  that  that  telegram  reads,  ' '  Price 
will  accept,"  continued  Rodney.  "I  belong 
to  a  company  of  Rangers  that  was  raised  down 
the  river,  and  at  my  captain's  request  I  tele- 
graphed to  Price  inquiring  if  he  would  take  us 
and  let  ns  operate  on  our  own  hook,  and  he 
said  he  would.  Read  it  for  yourself.  What 
are  you  afraid  of  ?  " 


UNDER   SUSPICIOTT.  141 

*' Nothing  much." 

"You  see,"  explained  Jeff,  who  during  this 
conversation  had  sat  with  his  elbows  resting  on 
his  knees  and  his  eyes  fastened  upon  the  floor, 
*' things  is  getting  sorter  ticklish  down  here 
in  this  neck  of  the  woods  already.  Nobody 
don't  know  who  he  can  trust." 

"Don't  you  believe  what  the  Able' s  captain 
said  about  me?"  inquired  Rodney,  who  had 
little  dreamed  that  he  would  become  an  object 
of  suspicion  almost  as  soon  as  he  set  his  foot 
on  Missouri  soil.  "He  told  me  you  were  true 
blue." 

"And  so  we  are,  when  we  know  the  feller 
we're  talking  to,"  said  the  man  who  was  sit- 
ting in  front  of  him,  and  whom  he  afterward 
heard  addressed  as  Nels.  "Now  I  Avant  you 
to  answer  me  a  few  questions  :  where  did  you 
board  the  Mollie  Able  .^  " 

Rodney,  who  Avas  not  at  all  used  to  this  sort 
of  thing,  began  to  grow  red  in  the  face,  but 
fortunately  he  did  not  hesitate  an  instant. 
I  got  on  at  Baton  Rouge,"  he  said. 
Is  that  place  this  side  of  Cairo  ?  " 

"  No  ;  it  is  the  other  side." 


142  EODl^EY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


u 


Did  you  stop  at  Cairo  on  your  way  up  ? " 
The  Able  was  there  perhaps  half  an  hour." 
Then  I  can  see  through  some  of  it  as  plain 
as  daylight,"  exclaimed  IS'els,  straightening 
up  on  his  nail  keg  and  shaking  his  hand  at 
Jeff.  "He  was  at  Cairo  long  enough  to 
change  his  clothes,  swap  hosses  and  have  his 
whiskers  shaved  off  ;  but  why  he  should  have 
the  cap'n  of  the  Able  set  him  ashore  here  at 
this  landing,  beats  my  time.  Don' t  it  your'  n  ? " 
There  were  signs  of  excitement  in  the  cabin, 
and  Rodney  felt  the  cold  chills  creeping  over 
him.  The  wood-cutters  were  wofully  ignorant, 
*  quite  as  open  to  reason  as  so  many  wooden 
men  would  have  been,  and  if  they  suspected 
him  of  trying  to  play  some  trick  upon  them, 
Rodney  could  not  imagine  how  he  should  go 
to  work  to  set  them  right.  He  glanced  at 
their  scowling  faces  and  told  himself  that  he 
would  not  have  been  in  greater  danger  if  he 
had  been  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the 
Yankees. 

"  I  should  like  to  know  what  you  mean  by 
this  foolishness?"  exclaimed  Rodney,  grow- 
ing excited  in  his  turn. 


UNDER  suspicioisr.  143 

*'  Mebbe  you'll  find  that  there  aint  no  great 
foolishness  about  it  before  we've  got  through 
with  you,"  answered  Nels ;  and  Rodney  no- 
ticed that  one  of  the  wood-cutters  moved  his 
seat  so  as  to  get  between  him  and  the  door. 

^'I  shall  know  more  about  that  after  you 
have  told  me  who  and  what  you  take  me  for," 
continued  Rodney.  "Do  you  think  you  ever 
saw  me  before  ? ' ' 

"  Well,  as  to  your  face  and  clothes  we  might 
be  mistook,"  re  lulled  Nels,  slowly.  "  But  you 
had  oughter  hid  that  watch  chain  before  you 
come  back  amongst  we-uns."  • 

He  reached  out  to  lay  hold  of  the  article  in 
question,  but  the  angry  boy  pushed  his  hand 
away. 

' '  This  watch  and  chain  were  a  birthday 
present  from  my  mother  four  years  ago,"  said 
he,  taking  the  watch  from  his  pocket  and 
unhooking  the  chain,  ''and  the  fact  is  recorded 
on  the  inside  of  the  case,  if  you  have  sense 
enough  to  read  it,  which  I  begin  to  doubt. 
You  are  at  liberty  to  look  at  them,  but  you 
mustn't  try  to  get  out  of  the  door  with 
them." 


144  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

Nels  took  the  articles  in  question  and  looked 
fixedly  at  Kodney,  as  if  he  did  not  know 
whether  to  smile  at  him  or  get  angry.  He 
decided  on  the  former  course  when  one  of  his 
companions  said,  in  an  audible  whisper  : 

"You  sartingly  be  mistook,  Nels.  That 
abolition  hoss-thief  was  a  mighty  palavering 
sort  of  chap,  but  he  didn't  have  no  such  grit." 

"Is  that  what  you  take  me  for,"  exclaimed 
Kodney, — "a  horse-thief  and  an  abolitionist 
besides  ?  You  certainly  are  mistaken,  for  I 
haven't  got  that  low  down  in  the  world  yet. 
Jeff,  3^ou  are  the  only  man  in  the  party  who 
seems  to  have  a  level  head  on  his  shoulders, 
and  I  wish  you  would  explain  this  thing  to 
me.  Begin  at  the  beginning  so  that  I  may 
know  just  how  the  case  stands." 

Before  Jeff  could  reply  to  the  request  one  of 
the  small  army  of  hunting  dogs  Avhich  found 
shelter  in  the  wood-cutters'  camp  set  up  a 
yelp,  the  rest  of  the  pack  joined  in,  and  for  a 
minute  or  two  there  was  a  terrific  hubbub. 
When  it  lulled  a  little  the  hail  rang  oat  sharp 
and  clear  from  some  place  in  the  surrounding 
woods : 


UNDER   SUSPICION.  145 

''Hallo  the  house!  Don't  let  your  clogs 
bite  !  " 

The  words  brought  all  the  wood-choppers  to 
their  feet  and  sent  all  except  two  of  them — 
Nels  and  the  man  who  had  taken  his  seat  near 
the  door — out  into  the  darkness.  These 
remained  behind  in  obedience  to  a  sign  from 
Jeff,  and  Rodney  knew  that  they  meant  to 
keep  an  eye  on  him. 

"  Who's  out  there  ?  "  he  inquired. 

"Don't  you  recognize  his  voice?"  asked 
Nels  in  reply.  "There's  more'n  one  of  'em, 
and  they  are  the  men  who  have  been  hunting 
for  you  for  a  week  past." 

I    am    glad    to    hear  it,"    said    Hodney. 

Perhaps  they  will  be  able  to  clear  away 
some  of  the  ridiculous  suspicions  you  seem  to 
have  got  into  your  heads  concerning  me." 

"Get  out,  ye  whelps,"  shouted  Jeff,  when 
he  stepped  out  of  the  door  ;  whereupon  the 
dogs  ceased  their  clamor  and  slunk  away 
behind  the  cabin  to  escape  the  clubs  he  threw 
among  them  to  enforce  obedience  to  his  order. 
"  Come  on,  strangers.     They  wont  pester  you." 

Then  came  a  tramping  of  hoofs,  as  if  a  small 


146  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

body  of  cavalry  was  making  its  way  througli 
the  bushes,  and  a  minute  afterward  Rodney 
could  look  through  the  open  door  and  see  half 
a  dozen  men  dismounting  from  their  horses. 
He  saw  Jeff  exchange  a  few  hasty  w^ords  with 
the  tall,  black-whiskered  man  w^ho  was  the 
first  to  touch  the  ground,  and  heard  the 
exclamations  of  surprise  which  the  latter 
uttered  as  he  listened  to  them.  He  could  not 
understand  what  the  man  said,  but  the  wood- 
cutter near  the  door  did,  for  he  called  out : 

''He's  come  back  sure's  you  live,  and  Xels 
has  got  his  w^atch  to  prove  it.  He  knowed 
him  the  minute  he  seed  the  chain  that's  fast 
to  it." 

"  Well,  if  that  is  the  case,  whom  have  we 
got  here?"  said  the  black-Avhiskered  man; 
and  this  time  Rodney  heard  the  words  very 
plainly.  "  Where  is  he  ?  Let  me  have  a  look 
at  him." 

Jeff  waved  his  hand  toward  the  door  and 
the  man  stepjjed  in  and  faced  Rodney,  w^ho 
arose  to  his  feet  and  met  his  gaze  without 
flinching.  One  glance  brought  from  him  a 
sigh  of  relief.     He  had  an  intelligent  man  to 


UNDER  SUSPICION.  147 

talk   to    now — one    who    could    be    reasoned 
with. 

"There's  the  watch  that  has  brought  sus- 
picion upon  me  in  a  way  I  cannot  under- 
stand," said  Rodney,  nodding  toward  Nels, 
who  promptly  handed  it  over.  "Will  you  be 
kind  enough  to  open  it  and  read  the  inscrip- 
tion you  will  find  on  the  inside  of  the  case." 

The  man  took  the  watch,  and  while  he  was 
opening  it  kept  his  eyes  fastened  upon  Rod- 
ney's face.  He  seemed  both  amused  and 
angry. 

"Jeff,"  he  exclaimed  at  length.  "I  never 
knew  before  that  you  were  such  a  blockhead. 
There  is  about  as  much  resemblance  between 
this  young  gentleman  and  that  horse- thief 
outside  as  there  is  between  you  and  me." 

"  But,  Mr.  Westall,  just  look  at  the  chain," 
protested  Jeff. 

"Well,  look  at  the  chain.  You're  a  Jack- 
son man,  I  supx)ose?"  he  added,  nodding  at 
Rodney. 

"  Every  day  in  the  week,"  replied  the  boy. 
"And  that's  what  brought  me  up  herefrom 
Louisiana.     I  belong  to  a  company  of  partis- 


148  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


> 


ans  ;  but  our  Governor  wouldn't  take  us  tlie 
way  we  wanted  to  go,  and  liere  I  am.  I  want 
to  find  Price  as  soon  as  I  can.  Kun  your  eye 
over  that  telegram,  if  you  please,  and  tlien 
read  this  letter." 

While, the  man,  who  had  been  addressed  as 
Mr.  Westall,  was  reading  the  documents  Eod- 
ney  passed  over  to  him,  his  four  companions 
came  into  the  cabin  bringing  with  them  a  fifth, 
at  the  sight  of  whom  Kodney  Gray  started  as 
if  he  had  been  shot. 


CHAPTER  YII. 

THE  EMERGENCY  MEN. 

"/^REAT    Scott!"    was  Rodney  Gray's 
vX  mental    ejaculation.       "That   is    Tom 
Percival  if  I  ever  saw  him." 

If  his  own  father  had  suddenly  been  brought 
into  the  cabin  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of 
armed  men,  the  Barrington  boy  could  not 
have  been  more  amazed.  He  winked  hard  and 
looked  again,  but  his  eyes  had  not  deceived 
him  ;  and  even  if  there  had  been  the  slightest 
doubt  in  his  mind  regarding  the  identity  of 
the  prisoner  who  had  been  denounced  as  "an 
abolition  horse-thief,"  it  would  have  vanished 
when  he  saw  the  expression  that  came  upon 
Tom's  face  the  moment  their  eyes  met.  Tom 
was  one  of  Dick  Graham's  firm  friends,  but 
while  a  student  at  the  Barrington  Academy 
he  had  often  declared  that  if  Dick  ever  so  far 
forgot  himself  as  to  enlist  in  the  rebel  army, 
he  (Tom)  would  go  into  the  Union  service  on 

149 


150  EODXEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


purpose  to  whip  Mm  back  into  a  proper  frame 
of  mind  ;  and  his  being  there  a  prisoner  led 
Rodney  to  believe  that  he  had  kept  his  pro- 
mise, so  far  as  enlisting  was  concerned.  But 
there  was  one  thing  about  it :  Tom  might  be  a 
Union  soldier,  but  he  was  neither  an  abolition- 
ist nor  a  horse-thief. 

"It  is  Percival,  sure  enough,  but  what  in 
the  name  of  sense  and  Tom  Walker  is  he 
doing  here?"  was  the  next  question  that 
came  into  Rodney's  mind. 

His  first  irajDulse  was  to  seize  his  old  school- 
mate by  the  hand,  proclaim  his  friendship  for 
him  and  assure  Mr.  Westall  and  the  rest  that 
they  had  committed  the  worst  kind  of  a  blun- 
der— that  they  had  made  as  great  a  mistake  in 
arresting  this  boy  for  a  horse-thief,  as  JSTels 
and  his  fellow  wood-cutters  had  made  in  sus- 
pecting him  of  being  Tom  Percival,  simply 
because  he  happened  to  have  in  his  possession 
a  watch  chain  that  somewhat  resembled 
Tom's.  But  two  things  restrained  him  :  the 
first  was  the  reflection  that  by  following  this 
course  he  would  put  it  entirely  out  of  his 
power  to  help  Tom  if    the    opportunity  was 


THE   EMERGENCY    MEN.  151 

offered,  and  the  second  was  the  way  in  which 
Tom  himself  looked  and  acted.  He  didn't 
appear  to  know  Rodney  at  all.  The  expres- 
sion of  joy  and  surprise  that  first  overspread 
his  countenance  vanished  as  if  by  magic,  and 
from  that  time  forward  he  gave  as  little  atten- 
tion to  his  old  friend  as  he  might  have  given 
to  an  utter  stranger.  Rodney  was  quick  to  take 
the  hint  and  governed  himself  accordingly. 

"  Percival  always  did  have  a  level  head  on 
his  shoulders,"  said  the  latter,  resuming  his 
seat  upon  the  nail  keg  and  placing  himself  as 
far  as  possible  out  of  reach  of  Tom's  gaze, 
"  and  he's  got  more  pluck  than  any  other  fel- 
low I  ever  saw.  He  needs  it,  poor  fellow,  if 
Captain  Howard  told  the  truth  when  he  said 
that  every  little  community  in  the  State  is 
divided  into  two  hostile  camps.  But  his 
father  owns  slaves,  and  Tom  never  stole  a 
horse." 

It  so  happened  that  all  the  inmates  of  the 
cabin  were  too  much  interested  in  what  Mr. 
Westall  was  doing  to  notice  the  swift  glance 
of  recognition  that  passed  between  the  two 
boys   when   Tom    Percival    was    brought  in. 


152  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 


> 


They  were  waiting  to  hear  what  he  had  to  say 
regarding  the  papers  Rodney  had  given  him 
to  read. 

^'I  suppose  you  are  acting  as  a  sort  of 
advance  agent  for  your  company  to  see  what 
arrangements  you  can  make  with  General 
Price  1 "  said  Mr.  Westall  at  lengtli. 

^'No,  sir.  I  am  acting  on  my  own  hook, 
and  without  any  regard  to  the  course  the  com- 
pany may  see  fit  to  take,"  replied  Rodney. 
*'The  members  don't  want  to  be  sworn  into  the 
service  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  the  pro- 
position to  leave  Louisiana  in  a  body  and  offer 
ourselves  to  Price,  was  voted  down.  I  do  not 
know  what  the  rest  of  the  boys  will  do,  but  I 
am  going  to  Join  the  Missouri  State  militia  if 
they  will  take  me." 

"Oh,  they'll  take  you  fast  enough,"  said 
Mr.  Westall,  with  a  laugh.  "They  have 
already  taken  everybody  they  can  get  their 
hands  on  without  stopping  to  inquire  what 
State  he  is  from.  We  -^ve  are  some  of  Jeff 
Thompson's  Emerg'ency  men." 

"  I  don't  think  I  ever  heard  of  such  men," 
said  Rodney  doubtfully. 


THE   EMERGENCY    MEN.  153 

''Probably  not.  You  don't  need  them 
down  in  'Louisiana,  and  we  may  not  have 
much  use  for  them  here  ;  though,  to  judge 
from  the  exploits  of  this  young  man  Percival, 
we  may  be  called  out  oftener  than  we  expected 
to  be." 

Rodney  hoped  that  Mr.  Westall  would  go 
on  to  tell  what  his  friend  Tom  had  been  guilty 
of  to  get  himself  into  such  a  scrax)e,  and  what 
they  intended  doing  with  him  now  that  they 
had  got  him  into  their  power  ;  but  in  this  he 
was  disappointed.  The  man  handed  back  Mr. 
Graham's  telegram  with  the  remark  that  he 
had  never  heard  of  a  person  of  that  name,  and 
then  proceeded  to  read  the  letter  of  introduc- 
tion, which  was  addressed  to  a  well-known 
Confederate  of  the  name  of  Perkins,  who 
lived  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Springfield. 

' '  I  am  acquainted  with  this  man  Perkins  in 
a  business  way,"  said  Mr.  Westall,  after  he 
had  run  his  eye  over  the  letter,  "and  know 
him  to  be  strong  for  Jeff  Davis  and  the  cause 
of  Southern  independence.  He  will  treat  you 
as  though  you  were  one  of  the  royal  blood  if 


154  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

you  can  only  get  to  him  ;  but  there's  the  trou- 
ble. He  lives  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
State,  and  that's  a  right  smart  piece  from 
here." 

"  I  know  it ;  but  I  have  a  good  horse  some- 
where outside,"  answered  Rodney. 

"  So  I  supposed;  but  you  can't  depend 
upon  your  horse  to  tell  you  whether  you  are 
talking  to  a  Yankee  symx)athizer  or  an  honest 
Confederate,  can  you  ?  The  ride  wont 
amount  to  anything,  but  you  have  a  tough  bit 
of  country  to  go  through.  Your  short  experi- 
ence right  here  among  friends  will  serve  to 
show  you  how  very  suspicious  everybody  is. 
We  don't  trust  our  nearest  neighbors  any 
more,  and  so  you  can  imagine  what  we  think 
of  a  stranger,  especially  if  he  happens  to  own 
a  watch  chain  that  looks  something  like  one 
that  is  worn  by  a  horse-thief,"  said  Mr.  Wes- 
tall,  smiling  at  the  boy  as  he  handed  his  prop- 
erty back  to  him.  "Now,  Jeff,  how  could 
you  have  made  such  a  mistake  ?  Can't  you 
see  that  they  don't  at  all  resemble  each 
other?" 

"  Now  that  I  see  them  together  I  can,"  was 


THE   EMERGENCY   MEN.  155 

Jeff's  answer.  *'  But  don't  lie  look  a  trifle  as 
that  thief  might  look  if  his  duds  was  changed 
and  his  whiskers  took  off  ? " 

Rodney  thought  from  the  first  that  his  old 
schoolmate  did  not  look  just  as  he  did  the  last 
time  he  saw  him,  and  now  he  knew  the  reason. 
To  a  very  slight  mustache  Tom  Percival,  since 
leaving  the  Barrington  Academy,  had  added  a 
pair  of  what  the  students  would  have  called 
"side-boards;"  but  they  Avere  so  very  scant 
that  they  could  not  by  any  possibility  be 
looked  upon  as  a  disguise.  Mr.  Westall 
laughed  at  the  idea. 

"  Jeff,  you  and  your  friends  are  too  anxious 
to  do  something  for  the  cause,"  said  he.  "  Of 
course  that  is  better  than  being  lukewarm,  but 
you  don't  want  to  be  too  brash  or  you  may  get 
yourselves  into  trouble.  Can  you  give  us 
some  supper  ?  But  first  we  want  to  put  this 
prisoner  where  he  will  be  safe." 

"Couldn't  you  postpone  that  part  of  the 
programme  until  /  have  had  a  bite  to  eat,  or 
do  you  think  there's  nobody  hungry  but 
yourselves?"  asked  the  iDrisoner,  in  the  most 
unconcerned  manner  possible ;  and  there  was 


156  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN 


no  mistaking  his  voice.  It  was  Tom  Percival's 
voice. 

"I  didn't  think  about  you,"  answered  Mr. 
Westall.  "And  perhaps  if  you  had  your 
dues,  you  would  be  left  to  go  hungry.  But  we 
are  not  savages,  even  if  we  are  down  on  your 
way  of  thinking  and  acting." 

"  Better  give  him  a  sup  of  coffee  to  keep  the 
cold  out  and  then  chuck  him  in  the  old  corn- 
crib,"  suggested  Jeff.  "He  can  lay  down  on 
the  shucks,  and  I  will  give  him  a  blanket  to 
keep  himself  warm." 

"Will  he  be  quite  safe  there?"  asked  the 
Emergency  man.  "No  chance  to  get  out,  is 
there  ?  Or  will  we  have  to  put  a  guard  over 
him?" 

"  There  aint  no  call  for  nobody  to  lose 
sleep  guarding  on  him,"  Avas  Jeff's  confident 
reply.  "There  aint  no  winder  to  the  corn- 
crib,  and  the  door  fastens  with  a  bar  outside. 
Some  of  the  chinking  has  fell  out  atween  the 
logs,  but  he  can't  crawl  through  the  cracks 
less'n  he  can  flatten  himself  out  like  a  flying 
squirrel.  Furthermore,  there's  the  dogs  that 
will  be  on  to  him  if  he  gives  a  loud  wink." 


THE   EMERGENCY   MEN.  157 

Kodney  listened  to  every  word  of  this  con- 
versation, and  told  himself  that  his  friend's 
chances  for  escape  were  very  slim  indeed. 

"  Take  a  keg  and  sit  down  over  there,"  said 
Mr.  Westall,  i^ointing  to  the  farthest  chim- 
ney corner  and  addressing  himself  to  the 
prisoner,  while  Nels  and  one  of  the  other 
wood-cutters  began  making  prej)arations  for 
supper.  ''Now,  if  you  have  no  objections, 
Mr.  Gray,  we  should  like  to  hear  the  rest  of 
your  story.  You  must  be  set  in  your  ways,  or 
else  you  never  would  have  come  up  here 
simx3ly  to  carry  out  your  idea  of  becoming  a 
partisan.  You  will  find  x)lenty  of  them  in 
these  parts.  Indeed,  you  will  find  more  of 
them  than  anything  else." 

It  did  not  take  Eodney  long  to  make  Mr. 
Westall  and  his  four  com^Danions  understand 
just  how  matters  stood  with  him,  for  there 
was  really  little  to  tell.  He  was  careful  not  to 
let  Ms  auditors  know  that  he  had  acted  as 
drill- sergeant, for  Captain  Hubbard's, company 
of  Rangers,  for  if  he  touched  upon  that  sub- 
ject, Mr.  Westall  might  ask  him  where  he 
received   his   military    education ;    and  if  he 


158  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

answered  that  he  got  it  at  the  Barrington 
Academy,  and  Mr.  Westall  happened  to  know 
that  his  prisoner  had  been  a  student  at  that 
very  school,  then  what  would  happen  ?  The 
fat  would  all  be  in  the  fire  at  once,  for  the 
Emergency  man  would  very  naturally  want  to 
know  why  the  two  boys  had  not  given  each 
other  some  sign  of  recognition  when  they  first 
met.  That  would  never  do  ;  so  Rodney  steered 
clear  of  these  dangerous  points,  and  Tom  Per- 
cival  sat  in  the  chimney  corner  with  his  elbows 
on  his  knees  and  listened  to  the  story.  When 
it  was  finished  and  Mr.  Westall  and  his  com- 
panions had  asked  him  a  few  leading  ques- 
tions, Rodney  ventured  to  inquire  what  an 
Emergency  man  was. 

''He  is  a  j)artisan  in  the  truest  sense  of  the 
word,"  was  Mr.  Westall' s  answer.  "He  is  a 
soldier  Avho  is  liable  to  be  called  into  the 
ranks  in  an  emergency,  and  at  no  other  time  ; 
but  that  does  not  prevent  him  from  getting  a 
few  friends  together  and  going  off  on  an  ex- 
pedition of  his  own  as  often  as  he  feels  like 
it." 

"An  exjpedition  of  his  own  ?  " 


THE   EMERGENCY   MEN.  159 

^'Yes.  If  the  Union  men  in  one  connty 
get  to  make  themselves  too  promiscuous,  and 
their  immediate  neighbors  haven't  the  strength 
or 'the  inclination  to  deal  with  them  them- 
selves, the  Emergency  men  in  the  next  county 
can  slip  in  some  dark  night  and  run  the  ob- 
noxious characters  out.     See  ?  " 

"  And  what  does  the  Emergency  man  do 
when  his  services  are  not  needed?"  inquired 
Rodney,  who  was  profoundly  astonished. 

"Why,  he  can  stay  quietly  at  home,  if  he 
wants  to,  and  cultivate  his  little  crops  while 
he  watches  the  Union  men  in  the  settlement 
or  acts  as  spy  for  the  troops,  if  there  are  any 
in  the  vicinity." 

"  But  suppose  the  Union  men  find  it  out  and 
pop  him  over  from  the  nearest  canebrake  ? " 
said  Rodney. 

"  He  must  look  out  for  that,  and  so  conduct 
himself  while  he  is  at  home  that  no  one  will 
suspect  anything  wrong  of  him,"  answered 
Mr.  Westall  indifferently.  "  His  fate  is  in  his 
own  hands,  and  if  he  doesn't  know  how  to  take 
care  of  himself,  he  has  no  business  to  be  an 
Emergency  man.     You  might  call  us  a  reserve 


160  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

to  the  state  Guard,  and  tliat  is  wliat  we  really 
are.'- 

"  I  think  you  are  really  freebooters.  That 
is  just  the  way  the  European  brigands  act," 
were  the  words  that  sprang  to  the  boy's  lips. 

Although  he  was  as  wild  a  rebel  as  he  ever 
had  been,  Rodney  had  a  higher  sense  of  honor 
than  when  he  wrote  that  mischievous  letter  to 
Bud  Goble  for  the  puri30se  of  getting  his 
cousin  Marcy  Gray  into  trouble,  and  his  whole 
soul  revolted  at  the  idea  of  being  such  a 
soldier  as  Mr.  Westall  described.  If  that  was 
the  way  a  partisan  was  expected  to  act,  Rod- 
ney wished  he  had  not  been  so  determined  to 
become  a  partisan.  Why  didn't  he  stay  in  his 
own  State  and  follow  the  fortunes  of  the 
Mooreville  Rangers,  as  he  had  promised  to  do  ? 
Finally  he  said  : 

"Are  the  State  Guards  the  same  as  the 
Home  Guards  ?" 

"Not  much;  any  more  than  a  good  Con- 
federate is  the  same  as  a  sneaking  Yankee," 
replied  Mr.  Westall.  ^ '  The  Home  Guards  are 
known  to  all  honest  men  as  Lyon's  Dutchmen. 
There  is  hardly  a  native    born  citizen  among 


THE   EMEEGENCY   MEIS".  161 

them,  and  yet  they  have  the  impudence  to  tell 
us  Americans  what  kind  of  a  government  we 
shall  have  over  us." 

"Have  you  Emergency  men  had  much  to 
do  yet?" 

"We  haven't  done  any  fighting,  if  that's 
what  you  mean,  for  there  hasn't  been  any  to 
speak  of  outside  of  St.  Louis  ;  but  we  have  been 
tolerable  busy  making  it  hot  for  the  Union 
men  in  and  around  the  settlements  where  we 
live.     How^ever — " 

Here  Mr.  Westall  stopped  and  nodded  in 
Tom  Percival's  direction,  as  if  to  intimate  that 
he  did  not  care  to  say  more  on  that  subject 
while  the  prisoner  was  within  hearing. 

The  conversation  ran  on  in  this  channel  dur- 
ing the  half  hour  or  more  that  JN'els  and  his 
helper  spent  in  getting  ready  the  corn-bread 
and  bacon,  but  Rodney,  although  he  appeared 
to  be  listening  closely,  did  not  hear  much  of  it, 
or  gain  any  great  store  of  information  regard- 
ing the  course  he  ought  to  pursue  during  his 
prospective  ride  from  Cedar  Bluff  landing  to 
the  city  of  Springfield.  The  thoughts  that 
filled  his  mind  to  the  exclusion  of  everything 


162  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

else  were :  What  had  Tom  Percival  done  to 
bring  upon  him  the  wrath  of  the  Emergency 
ihen,  and  how  was  he  going  to  help  him  out  of 
the  scrape  ?  For  of  course  he  was  bound  to 
help  him  if  he  could  ;  that  was  a  settled  thing. 
Tom  Percival  was  Union  all  through,  and  Rod- 
ney had  seen  the  day  when  he  would  have 
been  glad  to  thrash  him  soundly  for  the 
treasonable  sentiments  he  had  so  often  and 
fearlessly  uttered  while  they  were  at  Barring- 
ton  together ;  but  that  was  all  past  now. 
Tom  was  his  schoolmate  and  he  was  in  trouble. 
That  was  enough  for  Rodney  Gra}^,  who  would 
have  fought  until  he  dropped  before  he  would 
have  seen  a  hair  of  Tom's  head  injured. 

^'Now  then,  gentlemen,  retch  out  and  heliD 
yourselves,"  exclaimed  IN'els,  breaking  in  upon 
the  boy' s  meditations.  ' '  We  aint  got  much, 
but  you're  as  welcome  as  the  flowers  in  May." 

The  invitation  was  promptly  accepted,  the 
single  room  the  cabin  contained  being  so  small 
that  the  most  of  the  hungry  guests  could  reach 
the  viands  that  had  been  placed  upon  the 
table  without  moving  their  nail  kegs  an  inch. 
Rodney  had  eaten  one  good  supper  aboard  the 


THE  EMERGENCY   ME:N".  163 

Mollie  Able,  but  that  did  not  prevent  liim 
from  falling  to  with  the  rest.  Tom  Percival 
kept  his  seat  in  the  chimney  corner  and  a 
well-filled  plate  was  passed  over  to  him,  and 
his  cup  was  replenished  as  often  as  he  drained 
it.  Whatever  else  his  captors  intended  to  do 
to  him  they  were  not  going  to  starve  him.  Of 
course  the  talk  was  all  about  the  war,  which 
Mr.  Westall  declared  wasn't  coming,  and  the 
high-handed  action  taken  by  the  Washington 
authorities  in  sending  Captain  Stokes  across 
the  river  from  Illinois  to  seize  ten  thousand 
stand  of  arms  that  were  stored  in  the  St.  Louis 
Arsenal.  Of  course  this  was  done  to  keep  the 
weai)ons  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
Confederates,  who  were  already  laying  their 
plans  to  capture  them,  but  Mr.  Westall  looked 
upon  it  as  an  insult  to  his  State,  and  grew  red 
in  the  face  when  he  spoke  of  it. 

"That  was  what  made  the  trouble  here  in 
Missouri,"  said  he,  with  great  indignation. 
' '  Up  to  that  time  we  were  strong  for  the 
Union,  and  took  pains  to  say  that  the  State 
had  no  call  to  sever  her  connection  with  it ; 
but  at  the  same  time  we  recommended,  as  a 


164  EODNET,  THE  PARTISAN. 

sure  means  of  avoiding  civil  war,  that  the 
Federal  troops  should  be  Avithdrawn  from  all 
points  where  they  ^vere  likely  to  come  into 
collision  with  the  citizens.  How  was  that 
recommendation  received  ?  With  silent  con- . 
tempt,  sir ;  with  silent  contempt,  and  that  is 
something  we  will  not  stand." 

Supper  being  over  Mr.  Westall,  Nels  and 
Jeff  left  the  cabin  to  shut  Tom  Percival  up  in 
the  corn-crib,  the  latter  carrying  upon  his  arm 
a  tattered  blanket  which  the  prisoner  was  to 
use  ''  to  keep  himself  warm."  It  was  with  a 
heavy  heart  that  Kodney  saw  him  go,  and  as 
Tom  did  not  once  look  his  way,  the  latter 
could  not  even  give  him  a  glance  of  encourage- 
ment. When  the  three  men  returned  at 
the  end  of  ten  minutes  Mr.  Westall  was 
saying  : 

"It's  a  slimpsy  place  to  shut  a  prisoner  uj) 
in  and  I  should  be  afraid  to  trust  it,  if  it  were 
not  for  the  dogs.  He  can' t  crawl  out  between 
the  logs,  that  much  is  certain  ;  but  the  door  is 
almost  ready  to  drop  from  its  hinges,  and  has 
a  good  deal  of  play  back  and  forth  behind  the 
bar.     If  he  had  a  thin,  stout  stick  he  could 


THE   EMERGENCY   MEN.  165 

slip  it  through  the  crack,  lift  the  bar  and  take 
himself  off." 

*'But  I  tell  you  again  that  there  aint  the 
first  thing  in  the  crib  that  he  can  stick 
through  that  there  crack,"  exclaimed  Jeff, 
earnestly.  ''  There  aint  nothing  but  corn  ever 
been  in  there." 

'*I  reckon  he's  safe  enough,"  said  Mr. 
Westall.  ' '  At  any  rate  we  will  take  our 
chances  on  it  and  try  to  get  a  good  night' s 
sleejp.  It  might  be  well  for  whoever  gets  up 
during  the  night  to  mend  the  fire,  to  step  out 
and  take  a  look  at  him.  IS'ow,  Jeff,  what 
about  sleeping  arrangements  ?  There  are  not 
bunks  enough  for  all  of  us,  and  I  reckon  we'll 
have  to  tote  this  table  of  yours  out  doors  to 
make  room  for  us  to  lie  down  on  the  floor, 
wont  we? " 

''  Now  that  your  prisoner  is  out  of  hearing, 
would  you  have  any  objection  to  telling  me 
what  he  has  been  doing?"  inquired  Rodney, 
as  Jeff  and  N"els  pushed  back  their  nail  kegs 
and  got  up  to  act  upon  Mr.  Westall' s  sugges- 
tion. 

^'No  objection  whatever,  and   it  will  not 


166  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISATT. 

take  me  long  to  do  it,"  replied  the  latter. 
''He's  Union." 

"But  he  doesn't  look  like  a  horse -thief," 
added  Rodney. 

*'  Yes,  he's  Union  the  worst  kind,"  repeated 
the  Emergency  man.  "We've  been  hearing 
about  his  father's  doings  ever  since  the  elec- 
tion. We  don't  know  him  personally  for  he 
doesn't  live  in  our  county ;  but  we  know  of 
him,  and  we've  been  told  that  he  is  a  danger- 
ous man.  He  owns  a  lot  of  niggers,  but  last 
election  he  walked  up  to  the  polls,  as  brave  as 
you  please,  and  voted  for  Abe  Lincoln;  and 
there  wasn't  a  man  who  dared  say  a  word  to 
him  or  lift  a  hand  to  stop  him.  What  do  you 
think  of  that  ?  " 

"I  admire  his  courage,"  replied  Kodney, 
who  had  heard  the  story  before. 

"So  would  I,  if  it  had  been  shown  in  a 
good  cause,"  said  the  Emergency  man.  "  But 
that's  altogether  too  much  cheek  for  a  traitor, 
and  I  don't  see  anything  in  it  to  admire. 
This  son  of  his  is  more  to  be  feared  than  the 
old  man,  for  he  has  been  off  somewhere  and 
got  a  military  education  ;   and   the  very  first 


THE   EMERGENCY   MEN.  167 

thing  he  did  when  he  came  home  from  school 
was  to  get  up  a  comjDany  of  Home  Guards, 
and  send  word  to  Captain  Lyon  that  if  he 
wanted  help  all  he  had  to  do  was  to  say  so." 

Mr.  Westall  proceeded  to  light  his  pipe, 
which  he  had  previously  filled,  and  during  the 
operation  he  winked  at  Kodney  and  nodded 
as  if  to  ask  him  what  he  thought  of  that. 
The  latter  felt  a  thrill  run  through  every 
nerve  in  him.  He  was  glad  to  know  that  his 
old  schoolmate  was  not  wanting  in  courage, 
even  if  he  did  sympathize  with  the  Yankee 
invaders,  and  we  may  add  that  this  feeling 
was  characteristic  of  the  Barrington  boys  all 
through  the  war.  If  they  heard,  as  they 
occasionally  did,  that  some  schoolfellow  in 
the  opposing  ranks  had  done  something  that 
was  thought  to  be  worthy  of  praise,  they  felt 
an  honest  pride  in  it. 

^^  I  said  that  young  Percival  sent  word  to 
Captain  Lyon  that  he  was  ready  to  help  him, 
but  that  was  not  strictly  correct,"  continued 
Mr.  Westall,  taking  a  few  puffs  at  his  pipe  to 
make  sure  that  it  was  well  lighted.  '^  He  tooTi 
word  to  him  iDersonally  to  be  certain  he  got  it. 


168  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

riding  alone  on  horseback  all  tlie  way  from 
Springfield  to  St.  Louis.  What  passed  be- 
tween him  and  Lyon  we  don't  know  yet,  for 
he  wont  open  his  mouth  ;  but  we  may  find 
means  to  make  him  tell  all  we  care  to  hear. 
When  he  got  through  with  his  business  at  St. 
Louis  he  didn't  go  directly  home,  and  that  is 
what  got  him  into  this  difficulty.  He  came 
back  by  the  way  of  Pilot  Knob,  where  he  has  a 
Union  uncle  living;  but  that's  where  I  and 
my  friends  live,  too." 

''And  was  it  there  he  stole  the  horsed" 
asked  Rodney. 

"Well,  between  you  and  me  and  the  gate- 
post, he  never  stole  a  horse,"  replied  Mr. 
Westall  slowly,  as  if  he  were  reluctant  to 
make  the  admission. 

Rodney  Gray  crossed  his  legs,  clasped  his 
hands  around  one  knee  and  settled  back  on 
his  nail  keg  with  an  air  that  said,  almost  as 
plainly  as  words  : 

"  I  knew  it  all  the  time." 

"No,  he  never  stole  a  horse  or  anything 
else  that  we  know  of,"  repeated  Mr.  Westall. 
"  But  he  rides  a  critter  that  is  so  near  like  one 


THE   EMEKGENCY   MEN".  169 

that  was  stolen  from  a  Confederate  by  a  Union 
man  of  the  name  of  Morehouse  a  few  days 
ago,  that  you  could  hardly  tell  them  apart." 

''And  I  don't  much  blame  Morehouse  for 
stealing  that  horse,  either,"  said  one  of  the 
Emergency  men,  who  had  not  spoken  before. 
"He  had  to  get  out  of  the  country,  he  couldn't 
do  it  without  a  horse  to  carry  him,  and  so  he 
took  the  one  that  came  first  to  his  hand." 

"I  don't  know  as  I  blame  him,  either," 
assented  Mr.  Westall.  "  But  I  do  blame  him 
for  holding  the  opinions  he  does." 

' '  Well,  if  another  man  stole  the  horse  why 
do  you  lay  it  on  to  Percival?"  inquired  Kod- 
ney,  who  could  hardly  keep  from  showing 
how  angry  he  was. 

''You  see  the  matter  is  just  this  way," 
replied  the  Emergency  man,  as  if  he  scarcely 
knew  how  to  explain  the  situation  !  "If  young 
Percival  had  called  upon  his  uncle  for  a  visit, 
and  gone  away  again  without  taking  so  much 
interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  settlement,  we 
wouldn'  t  have  done  any  more  than  to  give  him 
warning  that  he  wasn't  wanted  there  ;  but 
when  we  saw  him  and   his  uncle  with  their 


170  EODNEY,  THE   PAETISAN. 

heads  together,  and  learned  from  some  of  our 
spies  that  Union  men  had  been  caught  going 
to  and  from  old  Percival's  house  at  all  hours 
of  the  day  and  night,  we  made  wp  our  minds 
that  there  was  something  wrong  about  this 
young  fellow  ;  so  we  telegraphed  to  Si^ring- 
field,  and  found  out  that  he  was  an  officer  in  a 
company  of  Home  Guards  who  had  offered 
their  services  to  Lyon.  Well,  you  bet  we 
were  surprised  to  find  that  he  was  the  son  of 
the  onl}^  man  in  his  county  who  dared  to  vote 
for  Abe  Lincoln,  and  it  made  us  afraid  of  him, 
too." 

"A  whole  settlement  afraid  of  one  boy?" 
exclaimed  Rodney. 

"Exactly.  We  didn't  know  which  way  to 
turn  for  the  Union  men  are  in  the  majority 
in  our  county,  as  they  are  all  through  the 
northern  and  eastern  parts  of  Missouri,  and 
we  didn't  dare  do  anything  openly  for  fear 
of  being  bushwhacked.  As  good  luck  would 
have  it  we  succeeded  in  scaring  Morehouse  out 
of  the  country  about  that  time,  and  when  he 
went,  he  took  one  of  the  best  horses  in  the 
settlement  with  him.     That  gave  us  something 


THE   EMERGENCY    MEi^-.  171 

to  work  on,  and  we  made  it  up  among  our- 
selves that  we  would  lay  the  theft  on  to  young 
Percival,  take  him  out  of  his  bed  that  night 
and  serve  him  as  the  law  directs." 
'  ''  Does  that  mean  that  you  would  have  hung 
him  ?  "  asked  Rodney,  with  a  shudder. 

*' That's  generally  the  way  we  do  with 
horse-thieves  uj)  here,"  replied  Mr.  Westall. 
**  How  do  you  serve  them  in  your  part  of  the 
country  ? " 

''  We  put  them  in  jail  when  they  have  been 
proved  guilty,"  answered  Kodney.  "But  you 
have  said,  in  so  many  words,  that  this  boy 
didn't  steal  the  horse — that  he  was  stolen  by  a 
man  who  ran  away  with  him." 

Before  replying  the  Emergency  man  paused 
to  relight  his  pipe  which  he  had  allowed  to  go 
out. 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

EODI^EY   PROVES   HIS   FRIENDSHIP. 

IT  seemed  to  take  Mr.  Westall  a  long  time 
to  get  his  pipe  going  to  his  satisfaction, 
and  when  at  last  he  spoke,  it  was  easy  to  see 
that  he  was  angry  at  Kodney  for  inquiring  so 
particularly  into  matters  that  did  not  in  any 
way  concern  him. 

''It  is  very  strange  that  you  fail  to  under- 
stand me  after  I  have  taken  such  pains  to  go 
into  details,"  said  he,  impatiently.  "The 
fact  that  young  Percival  didn'  t  steal  the  horse 
doesn't  matter.  We  were  bound  to  get  rid  of 
him  before  he  could  have  time  to  raise  and 
drill  a  company  of  Home  Guards  in  our  settle- 
ment, and  the  only  way  w^e  could  do  it  was  to 
charge  him  with  some  crime  that  would  make 
everybody.  Union  and  Confederate,  mad  at 
him.  See  ?  But  somehow  he  got  wind  of  our 
plans  (that  shows  how  impossible  it  is  to  trust 
anybody  these  times),  and  dug  out." 

173 


EODNEY   PROVES   HIS   FRIENDSHIP.        173 


(( 


On  his  own  horse  ?  "  asked  Rodney. 

*'  Of  course.  We  put  after  him,  taking  care 
to  cut  him  off  from  the  old  post-road  which  he 
would  have  to  follow  to  reach  Springfield,  and 
making  him  stay  in  the  river  counties  among 
people  who  would  do  all  in  their  power  to  help 
us  catch  him.  He's  a  sharp  one,  and  there 
aint  no  better  critter  than  the  one  that  has 
kept  him  ahead  of  us  for  nearly  ten  days.  He 
has  ridden  that  one  horse  all  the  time,  while 
we  have  had  to  change  now  and  then.  He 
spent  one  night  with  Jeff  in  this  cabin — " 

''And  the  way  he  did  pall  the  wool  over 
our  eyes  was  a  caution,"  Nels  interposed. 
''Why,  if  you  could  a  heard  him  talk  you 
would  a  thought,  as  we  did,  that  he  had  been 
gunning  for  Union  men  and  living  on  'em  ever 
since  the  furse  began.  He  let  on  that  he  was 
in  a  great  hurry  to  get  over  the  river  to  see 
about  getting  some  guns  for  Price's  men,  and 
we  swallered  every  word  he  said." 

"  Tom  always  could  tell  a  slick  story,"  was 
Rodney's  mental  comment. 

"He  had  a  watch  chain  that  was  adzactly 
like  your'n,  and  the  minute  I  seen  it  I  said  to 


174  KODNEY,  THE  PARTISAK. 


) 


myself  that  you  was  Mm,"  said  Nels  in  con- 
clusion. 

"  We  were  close  upon  his  heels,"  continued 
Mr.  Westall.  ''We  arrived  here  the  next 
morning,  about  four  hours  after  he  left,  and 
when  we  told  Jeff  and  his  friends  what  a  neat 
trick  had  been  played  upon  them,  they  became 
not  only  angry  but  very  suspicious." 

''Unreasonably  suspicious,"  added  Rodney, 
in  a  tone  of  disgust.  "  Does  Jeff  or  anybody 
else  suppose  for  a  moment  that  I  would  have 
come  back  to  this  camp  if  I  had  been  in  Per- 
cival's  j)lace  ? " 

"That  was  what  beat  my  time  and  I  said 
so,"  answered  Nels.  "I  never  would  have 
suspicioned  you  if  it  hadn't  been  for  that 
watch  chain  of  your'n,  and  the  story  you  told 
about  not  knowing  the  country  around  Si^ring- 
field.  The  captain  of  the  Mollie  Able  said  you 
was  one  of  Price's  men,  and  we  took  it  for 
granted  that  you  had  been  riding  with  him. 
But  I  am  satisfied  now." 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  it,"  answered  Rodney 
"But,   Mr.  Westall,  it  can't  be  possible  that 
you  will  stand  by  and  see  this  young  fellow 


EODNEY  PROVES  HIS   FRIENDSHIP.        175 

punished,  when  you  know  him  to  be  innocent 
of  the  crime  with  which  you  have  charged 
him?" 

*'  ]N'o  ;  I  don't  reckon  I'll  stand  by  and  see  it 
because  I  have  sorter  taken  a  shine  to  him, 
even  if  he  is  a  traitor,"  answered  the  Emerg- 
ency man.  ''There'll  be  enough  to  attend  to 
the  business  without  any  of  my  helj)." 

''And  he  will  be  hung,  I  suppose  1 " 

"  He'll  never  stick  his  meddlesome  Union 
nose  into  our  settlement  again,  I'll  bet  you  on 
that,"  replied  Mr.  Westall,  knocking  the  ashes 
from  his  pipe  and  showing  quite  plainly  by  his 
manner  that  he  did  not  care  to  answer  any 
more  questions.  "  I  can't  understand  why  the 
folks  living  down  Springfield  way  didn't 
attend  to  his  case  long  ago,  and  save  us  the 
trouble." 

So  saying  the  Emergency  man  arose  to 
his  feet  and  went  after  his  blanket,  which 
had  been  left  outside  the  door  with  his  saddle, 
and  the  movement  was  taken  by  the  others  as 
a  signal  that  it  was  time  to  go  to  bed.  Rod- 
ney's blankets  were  in  his  trunk,  but  he  Avas 
not  ready   to  take  them  out  just  then.      He 


176  EODNEY,  THE  PAETISAN. 


} 


followed  Mr.  Westall  out  of  tlie  door,  believ- 
ing that  the  latter  would  be  sure  to  visit  Tom' s 
prison  before  retiring  for  the  night. 

'^  I  must  find  out  where  that  corn-crib  is,  for 
I  shall  want  to  go  to  it  before  morning,"  said 
Rodney  to  himself.  "And  then  there  are  the 
dogs,  which  I  should  like  to  have  see  and  scent 
me  before  I  go  prowling  around  among  them. 
Tom's  got  to  have  help  this  very  night  or  he 
is  just  as  good  as  a  dead  cadet." 

Mr.  Westall  undid  the  blanket  which  was 
strapped  behind  his  saddle,  tossed  it  into  the 
cabin  and  then  stretched  his  arms  and  yawned 
as  if  he  were  very  tired  and  sleepy. 

"  I  am  used  to  the  saddle,"  said  he,  as  Rod- 
ney came  out  of  the  cabin  and  approached  the 
place  where  he  was  standing,  ' '  but  I  must  say 
that  that  young  fellow  has  given  me  a  hard 
pull.  He  must  be  made  of  iron,  for  he  doesn't 
seem  to  mind  it  at  all.  Let's  go  .and  see  how 
he  is  getting  on.  I  want  to  make  sure  that  he 
is  safe  before  I  go  to  sleep." 

"Don't  you  think  this  is  a  cold-blooded, 
heartless  way  to  treat  a  boy  who  has  never 
done    you    any    harm?"     inquired    Rodney, 


KODi^^EY   PROVES   HIS   FRIENDSHIP.         177 

stooping  down  to  caress  first  one  and  then 
another  of  the  hirge  pack  of  dogs  which  came 
trooping  up  the  minute  the  cabin  door  was 
opened.  "Have  you  a  son  about  the  same 
age?" 

"That's  neither  here  nor  there,"  replied  Mr. 
AYestall ;  and  Rodney  thought  from  the  nerv- 
ous, jerky  manner  in  which  he  faced  about 
and  started  for  the  corn- crib,  that  the  words 
had  touched  him  in  a  tender  spot.  "  Suppose 
I  have  ;  what  then  ?  If  he  so  far  forgets  the 
training  he  has  received  ever  since  he  was  old 
enough  to  know  anything,  let  him  take  the 
consequences." 

"You  say  that  young  Percival's  father  is 
strong  for  the  Union,"  continued  Rodney. 
"  If  that  is  the  case,  didn't  he  train  up  his  son 
in  the  way  he  wanted  him  to  go  ?  No  doubt 
he  is  just  as  honest  in  his  opinions  as  we  are." 

"  Honest !  "  repeated  Mr.  Westall,  in  a  tone 
of  contempt.  ' '  Can  a  man  honestlj^  hold 
opinions  that  make  him  a  traitor  to  his  State  ? 
Percival  is  on  the  wrong  side,  but  that  is  no 
fault  of  ours.  We  can't  and  wont  have 
traitors  in  our  midst  preaching  up  their  doc- 


178  EODNEY,  THE   PAETISAN. 

trines  and  organizing  military  coniiDanies. 
Why,  do  you  know  that  they  have  bush- 
whacked scores  of  our  men  all  over  the  State — 
called  them  to  the  door  of  their  homes  and 
shot  them  down  like  dogs,  or  popped  them 
over  while  they  were  riding  quietly  along  the 
road  ?  You  are  a  partisan,  are  you  ?  You 
don't  know  the  meaning  of  the  word;  but  if 
you  will  go  home  w^ith  me  I  will  teach  it  to 
you  in  less  than  a  week." 

If  Rodney  had  given  utterance  to  his  honest 
sentiments  he  would  have  told  Mr.  Westall,  in 
pretty  plain  language,  that  he  would  face 
about  and  go  to  his  own  home  again  before  he 
would  be  that  kind  of  a  partisan.  Shaking 
his  fist  under  a  Union  boy's  nose  and  fighting 
him  on  the  parade  ground  was  one  thing,  and 
shooting  him  down  in  cold  blood  was  another. 
But  he  did  not  have  time  to  make  any  reply, 
for  just  as  Mr.  Westall  ceased  si)eaking  they 
reached  the  corn- crib. 

''All  right  in  there?"  said  the  Emergency 
man,  laying  hold  of  the  door  and  giving  it  a 
shake  ;  and  as  he  did  so,  Rodney  took  note  of 
the  fact  that  it  opened  as  much  as  an  inch  and 


EODNEY   PROVES  HIS   FRIENDSHIP.        179 

a  half,  so  that  if  the  prisoner  on  the  inside 
had  anything  with  which  he  could  reach 
through  the  crack  and  throw  the  bar  out  of  its 
place,  he  need  not  stay  there  a  moment  longer 
than  he  wanted  to.  ''Will  one  blanket  be 
enough   to  keep  you  warm?" 

''  I  don't  call  this  fish-net  a  blanket,"  replied 
Tom's  voice.  ''  I  suppose  it  will  have  to  do,  if 
you  are  so  poor  you  can't  give  me  anything 
better.  But  this  is  a  cold,  cheerless  place  to 
shove  a  fellow  into  without  any  fire  or  light." 
''It's  plenty  good  enough  for  a  traitor," 
answered  Mr.  Westall,  with  a  coarse  laugh ; 
and  then  he  turned  about  and  led  the  way 
back  to  the  cabin. 

Two  of  the  Emergency  men  and  all  the 
wood-cutters  had  come  out  to  "take  a  look 
at  the  weather,"  and  make  up  their  minds 
whether  or  not  the  steamer  they  heard  coming 
up  the  river  below  the  bend  was  going  to  stop 
at  the  landing  for  fuel,  and  w^hile  Eodney  lis- 
tened to  their  conversation  he  walked  about 
with  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  and  kicked  list- 
lessly at  the  chips  and  sticks  that  were  scat- 
tered around  the  log  on  which  Jeff  and  his 


180  RODNEY,  THE  PAETISAN. 


men  cut  their  fire- wood.  Finally  he  picked 
up  one  of  the  sticks  and  began  cutting  it  with 
his  knife  ;  and  a  little  later,  when  he  thought 
no  one  was  observing  his  movements,  he 
shoved  the  stick  into  the  sleeve  of  his  coat. 
This  much  being  done  he  was  ready  to  make  a 
demonstration  in  Tom  Percival's  favor. 

"By  the  way,  Jeff,"  said  he,  suddenly. 
' '  While  you  are  waiting  for  that  steamer  to 
make  up  her  mind  if  she  wants  any  wood  or 
not,  will  you  tell  me  where  I  can  find  my 
horse  ?  I  always  make  it  a  point  to  say  good- 
night to  him  before  I  go  to  bed." 

Resting  one  hand  on  the  boy's  shoulder  Jeff 
pointed  with  the  other,  and  showed  him  the 
building  in  which  the  roan  colt  had  been 
placed  under  cover. 

"The  dogs  wont  bother  me,  will  they?" 
asked  E-odney. 

"Oh,  no.  You've  been  round  amongst 'em 
and  they  know  you." 

Rodney  posted  off,  and  Jeff  saw  him  disap- 
pear through  the  door  of  the  cabin  that  had 
been  pointed  out  to  him  ;  but  he  was  not  look- 
ing that  way  when  Rodney  came  out  a  mo- 


ROD]^EY   PROVES   HIS  FRIENDSHIP         181 

ment  later,  and  with  noiseless  steps  and  form 
half  bent  directed  his  course  toward  Tom  Per- 
cival's  prison.  His  face  wore  a  determined 
look,  and  his  right  hand,  wdiich  was  thrust 
into  the  pocket  of  his  sack  coat,  firmly 
clutched  his  revolver.  He  knew  that  he  must 
succeed  in  what  he  was  about  to  attempt  or 
die  in  his  tracks,  for  if  he  were  detected,  he 
would  stand  as  good  a  chance  of  being  hanged 
as  Tom  himself.  But  there  were  no  signs  of 
w^avering  or  hesitation  about  him.  He  drew 
a  bee-line  for  the  back  of  the  corn-crib,  and 
began  looking  for  the  places  Avliere  the  chink- 
ing had  fallen  out.  It  did  not  take  him  many 
minutes  to  find  one,  and  then  he  set  about 
attracting  Tom's  attention  by  pulling  the  stick 
from  his  sleeve,  and  rubbing  it  back  and  forth 
through  one  of  the  cracks.  The  movement 
was  successful.  There  was  a  slight  rustling 
among  the  corn-husks  inside  the  cabin,  and  a 
second  later  the  prisoner  laid  hold  of  the 
stick. 

*•  All  right,"  whispered  Tom.  "  I  was  look- 
ing for  you,  and  I  know  what  this  stick  is  for. 
Shake." 


182  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

The  boys  tried  to  bring  their  hands  together, 
but  the  opening  between  the  logs  was  so  nar- 
row that  the  best  they  could  do  was  to  inter- 
lock some  of  their  fingers. 

''Here,"  w^hispered  Rodney,  pushing  his 
revolver  through  the  crack  butt  first.  ' '  Take 
this,  you  Yankee,  and  remember  that  you  will 
surely  be  hung  if  you  don' t  get  out  of  here 
before  daylight." 

"I  hope  you  are  not  disarming  yourself," 
said  Tom. 

"That's  all  right.  This  is  for  Dick  Gra- 
ham's sake  and  Barrington's  ;  but  look  out 
for  me  if  I  catch  you  outside,  for  I  am  one  of 
Price's  men." 

Tom  said  something  in  reply,  but  Eodney 
did  not  hear  what  it  was,  nor  did  he  think  it 
safe  to  stop  long  enough  to  ask  the  prisoner  to 
repeat  the  words.  He  hastened  away  from 
the  corn-crib,  and  when  Jeff  and  Mr.  Westall 
next  saw  him,  he  was  standing  in  the  stable 
door  pushing  back  his  horse  which  was  trying 
to  follow  him  out.  He  was  doing  more.  He 
was  striving  with  all  his  will-power  to  subdue 
the  feelings  of  excitement  and  exultation  that 


RODNEY   PROVES  HIS   FRIENDSHIP.        183 

surged  upon  liim  when  he  thought  of  what  he 
had  done,  and  what  the  consequences  to  him 
would  be  if  anything  happened  to  excite  the 
suspicions  of  the  hot-headed  Confederates  who 
had  him  completely  in  their  power. 

''  If  they  do  anything  to  me  and  Tom  finds 
it  out,  he  will  make  some  of  them  suffer  if  he 
ever  gets  the  chance,"  thought  the  Barrington 
boy,  as  he  closed  the  door  of  the  stable  and 
walked  back  to  the  wood  pile.  ^'But  what 
good  will  that  do  me  when  I  am  dead  and 
gone  ?  I  declare  I  begin  to  feel  as  Dick  Gra- 
ham did  :  Dog-gone  State  Rights  anyhow." 

It  was  with  no  slight  feelings  of  anxiety 
that  Rodney  Gray  joined  the  group  of  men 
around  the  wood  yard ;  but  fortunately  there 
w^as  no  light  in  the  cabin  other  than  that  given 
out  by  the  blaze  in  the  fire-place,  and  if  his 
face  bore  any  trace  of  excitement,  as  he  was 
certain  it  did,  nobody  noticed  it.  The  steamer 
did  not  stop  at  the  landing,  and  when  she 
passed  on  up  the  river,  the  wood-cutters  and 
their  guests  w^ent  into  the  cabin  and  closed 
the  door.  Then  Rodney  opened  his  trunk 
and  brought  out  his  blankets,  taking  care  to 


184  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

spread  tliem  as  far  from  the  door  as  he  could, 
so  that  when  Tom's  escape  was  discovered,  no 
one  could  reasonably  suspect  him  of  having 
slipped  out  during  the  night  and  set  him  free. 

"Good-night,  everybody,"  said  he  cheer- 
fully, as  he  laid  himself  upon  his  hard  couch. 
"I  have  made  two  mistakes — two  big  mis- 
takes," he  added,  as  he  drew  his  head  under 
the  blankets.  "  I  forgot  to  warn  Tom  to  look 
out  for  the  dogs  (but  being  a  Southerner  he 
ought  to  know  enough  for  that  without  being 
told),  and  I  ought  not  to  have  said  so  much  in 
his  favor  to  Mr.  Westall.  Now  that  I  think 
of  it,  that  was  a  fearful  blunder,  and  it  may 
be  the  means  of  bringing  trouble  to  me. 
Well,  I  can't  help  it.  I  detest  Tom's  princi- 
ples and  would  be  glad  to  see  them  thrashed 
out  of  him  ;  but  when  it  comes  to  hanging  him 
for  something  he  didn't  do — that's  carrying 
things  just  a  little  too  far.  There's  not  a  wink 
of  sleep  for  me  this  night." 

But,  contrary  to  his  expectations,  Rodney 
fell  asleep  in  less  than  half  an  hour  and  slum- 
bered soundly  until  he  was  awakened  by  one 
of  the  Emergency  men,  who  made  considerable 


KODNEY   PKOVES   HIS   I^RIENDSHIP.         185 

noise  in  punching  up  the  fire.  Mr.  Westall 
was  also  aroused.  Raising  himself  on  his 
elbow  he  said,  drowsily  : 

"  That  you,  Harvey  ?  Have  you  been  out  to 
look  at  that  friend  of  ours  in  the  corn-crib  ?" 

"  I  have,  and  found  him  all  right." 

"  Did  you  simply  speak  to  him,  or  did  you 
go  in  where  he  was  ? " 

''I  took  a  piece  of  fat  wood  from  this  fire 
and  went  in  where  he  was,"  replied  Harvey. 
"  He  was  covered  up  head  and  ears,  but  I  saw 
his  boots  sticking  out  from  under  the 
blanket." 

''What  time  is  it?" 

"  Two  o'clock  of  a  clear,  starlight  morning, 
and  all's  well,"  answered  Harvey  ;  and  this 
made  it  plain  that  if  he  was  not  a  soldier  he 
was  learning  to  be  one,  for  he  knew  how  to 
pass  the  sentry's  call. 

"  Well ;  of  all  the  dunderheads  /ever  heard 
of  that  Tom  Percival  is  the  biggest,"  thought 
Rodney,  who  had  never  in  his  life  been  more 
astounded.  "  Two  o'clock  in  the  morning  and 
he  lying  fast  asleep  there  in  the  corn-crib 
when  he  ought  to  be  miles  away  !    If  I  had 


186  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

known  lie  was  going  to  act  like  that,  I  would 
have  seen  him  happy  before  I  w^ould  have 
risked  my  neck  trying  to  save  his." 

Rodney  turned  over  on  the  other  side  with 
an  angry  flop  and  tried  to  go  to  sleep  again  ; 
but  that  was  quite  out  of  the  question.  He 
could  do  nothing  but  rail  at  Tom  for  his 
stupidity,  and  wonder  if  the  latter  would  have 
sense  enough  to  hide  the  revolver  before  Mr. 
Westall  or  some  other  Emergency  man  went 
into  his  prison  in  the  morning  to  bring  him 
out.  Two  other  men  got  up  and  left  the  cabin 
before  day-light,  and  the  Barrington  boy  knew 
they  visited  the  corn-crib,  for  he  heard  their 
footsteps  as  they  were  going  and  returning ; 
but  as  they  both  brought  a  few  sticks  of  wood 
with  them  and  mended  the  fire  without  saying 
a  word,  Rodney  was  forced  to  the  conclusion 
that  Tom  was  still  safe  in  his  prison. 

Jeff,  who  was  an  early  riser,  was  stirring 
long  before  the  first  signs  of  coming  dawn 
could  be  seen  through  the  numerous  cracks  in 
the  walls  of  the  cabin,  and  when  he  got  out  of 
his  bunk  it  was  a  signal  to  all  his  men,  who 
were    prompt    to    follow    his    example.     The 


o 


EODNEY   PROVES   HIS   FRIENDSHIP.         187 

Emergency  men  and  Rodney  arose  also,  for 
of  course  it  was  useless  to  think  of  sleeping- 
longer  with  so  many  j)airs  of  heavy  boots 
pounding  the  dirt  floor  on  which  their 
blankets  were  spread.  One  of  the  wood-cut- 
ters set  off  for  the  river  with  a  bucket  in  each 
hand  to  bring  water  for  cooking  and  washing 
purposes,  others  went  to  feed  the  stock,  and 
Nels,  at  Mr.  Westall's  request,  went  to  arouse 
Tom  Percival. 

^'  No  doubt  he  will  enjoy  the  fire  after  pass- 
ing the  night  in  that  cold  corn-crib,"  said  the 
Emergency  man,  spreading  his  hands  over  the 
cheerful  blaze  upon  the  wide  hearth.  "But 
whether  or  not  he  will  enjoy  the  society  into 
which  he  will  be  thrown  before  he  has  another 
chance  to  sleep,  is  a  different  matter  alto- 
gether." 

"And  I  think  I  should  enjoy  a  little  exer- 
cise," chimed  in  Rodney.  "I  am  not  much 
of  a  chopper,  but  perhaps  I  can  get  up  an 
apjpetite  for  breakfast." 

So  saying  he  went  out  into  the  wood  yard 
and  caught  up  an  axe.  His  object  was  not  to 
get  uj)  an  appetite  (being  in  the  best  of  health 


188  ROD:t^EY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

he  always  had  that),  but  to  place  himself 
where  he  could  see  his  old  schoolmate  when 
he  was  brought  out  of  his  prison.  He  would 
have  given  something  handsome  if  he  could 
have  had  a  chance  to  ask  Tom  what  his  object 
was  in  staying  in  that  corn-crib  after  he  had 
been  provided  with  the  means  of  getting  out, 
and  a  revolver  with  which  to  defend  himself, 
but  was  obliged  to  content  himself  with  the 
reflection  that  he  had  done  all  he  could,  and 
that  if  Tom  wanted  help  he  would  have  to 
look  for  it  somewhere  else. 

'*  I  wonder  if  he  thinks  the  Union  men  at 
Pilot  Knob  will  rescue  him  when  he  is  brought 
there  1"  thought  Eodney,  as  he  swung  the 
axe  in  the  air.  "If  he  is  depending  upon 
them,  why  did  he  run  away  from  the  settle- 
ment in  the  first  place  ?    What  was  the  reason 

he-" 

Eodney,  who  had  kept  one  eye  on  ISTels, 
paused  with  his  axe  suspended  in  the  air  and 
looked  at  the  corn-crib.  He  saw  the  man 
throAV  down  the  bar  and  open  the  door,  and 
heard  him  when  he  shouted  : 

"Come  out  of  that  and  pay  your  lodging. 


An  Astonishing  Discovery. 


o 


EODNEY   PROVES   HIS   FRIENDSHIP.         189 

We  can't  afford  to  keep  a  free  hotel  when 
bacon  is  getting  so  scarce  that  we  can't  even 
steal  it.     Out  you  come." 

Rodney  listened  but  did  not  hear  any 
answer.  Neither  did  Nels.  The  latter  bent 
forward,  stretched  out  his  neck  and  seemed  to 
be  intently  regarding  something  on  the  inside 
of  the  cabin.  Then  he  straightened  up  and 
marched  in  with  a  vicious  air,  as  if  he  Avas  re- 
solved that  he  would  not  stand  any  more  fool- 
ing. He  was  gone  not  more  than  a  minute,  and 
then  he  came  back  with  a  jump  and  a  whoop, 
holding  Jeff's  tattered  blanket  in  one  hand 
and  a  pair  of  well-worn  boots  in  the  other. 

^'  Wake  snakes  !  "  yelled  Nels,  striking  up  a 
war-dance  and  frantically  flourishing  the  cajD- 
tured  articles  over  his  head.  "He's  skipped, 
that  hoss-thief  has  !     He's  lit  out,  I  tell  ye  !  " 

Almost  at  the  same  moment  the  wood-cutter 
who  had  gone  out  to  attend  to  the  stock  ap- 
peared at  the  door  of  the  stable  and  called  out 
to  Rodney  : 

"Say,  you  Louisanner  fellar,  where' s  your 
critter  ? "  And  then  he  stopped  and  looked  at 
Nels.     "  Do  you  say  the  prisoner  has  lit  out  ?  " 


190  KODT^EY,  THE   PAETISAN. 


he  sliouted.  "Then  he's  done  took  another 
hoss  to  holp  him  on  his  way." 

' '  If  he  has  taken  mine  he  has  got  the  best 
horse  in  the  State,"  exclaimed  Rodney,  drop- 
ping his  axe  and  starting  i^osthaste  for  the 
stable.  "  You  might  as  well  give  up  now,  Mr. 
Westall,  for  the  colt  is  Copper-bottom  stock 
and  can  travel  for  twenty-four  hours  at  a 
stretch." 

Again  Rodney  told  himself  that  he  had 
never  been  more  astonished.  He  was  de- 
lighted, too,  to  find  that  his  friend  had  not  for- 
gotten the  tricks  he  had  learned  at  the  Bar- 
rington  Military  Academy.  He  had  not  only 
arranged  a  "  dummy  "  in  the  dark — making  so 
good  a  job  of  it,  too,  that  the  man  Harvey, 
with  the  light  of  a  pine  knot  to  aid  him,  had 
not  been  able  to  discover  the  cheat — but  he 
had  left  his  boots  sticking  out  from  under  the 
blanket  and  gone  off  in  his  stocking  feet.  But 
why  had  betaken  Rodney's  horse  instead  of 
his  own?  It  was  all  right,  of  course,  for  a 
fair  exchange  was  no  robbery,  but  Rodney 
would  have  liked  to  have  had  that  question 
answered. 


KODNEY   PROVES   HIS   FRIENDSHIP.         191 

"  It  seems  tliat  Jeff's  dogs  are  not  worth  the 
powder  it  would  take  to 'blow  them  up,"  said 
he  to  Mr.  Westall,  who  had  followed  close  at 
his  heels.  ''Your  man  has  gone  off  with  my 
horse,  and  I  don't  believe  you  have  a  nag  in 
your  party  that  can  catch  him.  Now  what's 
to  be  done  ? ' ' 

''I  was  a  plumb  dunce  for  placing  any  de- 
pendence on  those  dogs,"  replied  the  Emer- 
gency man,  as  soon  as  his  surprise  and  anger 
would  permit  him  to  speak.  "  I  might  have 
known  that  they  would  not  pay  the  slightest 
attention  to  Percival  after  they  had  seen  him 
with  us  about  the  camp.  Nels,  was  there  any- 
thing in  or  around  the  corn-crib  to  show  how 
he  got  out?" 

"Not  the  first  that  I  could  see,"  answered 
the  wood-cutter.  "The  bar  was  in  its  place, 
and  when  I  opened  the  door  I  was  as  certain 
as  I  could  be  that  I  saw  him  laying  there  on 
the  shucks  with  his  feet  sticking  out.  When  I 
called  and  he  did'nt  say  nothing,  I  thought  I 
would  go  in  and  snatch  him  up  off'n  them 
shucks  in  a  way  that  would  learn  him  not  to 
play  'possum    on  me  ary  'nother   time  ;    but 


192  RODIS^EY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

wlien  I  snatched  I  didn'  t  get  nothing  but  the 
blanket  and  empty  boots." 

*' Harvey,  he  must  have  been  gone  when  you 
went  in  there  with  your  light,"  said  Mr.  Wes- 
tall,  reproachfully.  ''No  doubt  he  threw  the 
bar  up  with  his  hand,  and  his  object  in  closing 
the  door  after  him  was  to  hide  his  escape  as 
long  as  possible.  If  he  went  about  midnight 
he  has  nearly  six  hours  the  start  of  us,  on  a 
swift  horse  and  along  a  road  he  knows  like  a 
book.  Let's  go  home,  boys.  We've  done  the 
best  we  could,  but  next  time  we'll  tr^^  and  be 
a  little  sharper." 

While  this  conversation  was  going  on  Rod- 
ney had  leisure  to  recover  his  comx)Osure,  and 
was  not  a  little  relieved  to  see  that  there  were 
no  side-long  glances  cast  toward  himself.  Mr. 
Westall  seemed  to  think  that  he  alone  was  to 
blame  for  the  j^risoners  escape,  his  four  com- 
panions were  quite  willing  that  he  should 
shoulder  the  responsibility,  and  no  one 
thought  of  suspecting  Rodney  Gray. 

"I  am  short  a  good  horse  by  last  night's 
work,  and  supx)ose  I  shall  have  to  take  Perci- 
val's  to  replace  him,  wont  I?  "  said  the  latter. 

It's  that  or  go  afoot,  isn't  it  ?  " 


a 


EODXEY   PROVES    HIS   FRIENDSHIP.         193 

''I  suppose  it  is,"  replied  the  Emergency 
man. 

"  What  sort  of  an  animal  is  he  and  where  is 
he?"  continued  Rodney.  "I  should  like  to 
have  a  look  at  him." 

"  He's  out  in  the  yard  with  the  rest  of  the 
critters,"  said  Nels.  "I  thought  it  best  to 
keep  yours  in  the  shed  because,  being  a  stran- 
ger, the  others  might  have  fell  to  kicking  him 
if  they  had  all  been  turned  in  together." 

''You  did  perfectly  right,"  answered  Rod- 
ney, who  thought  the  man  was  trying  to 
excuse  himself  for  having  put  the  roan  colt 
where  he  could  be  so  easily  stolen.  ''And 
that's  the  reason  Tom  took  him,"  he  added, 
mentally.  "If  he  had  gone  into  the  yard 
after  his  own  nag,  the  others  would  have 
snorted  and  raised  a  fuss,  and  that  would  have 
started  the  dogs  and  prevented  his  escape. 
It's  all  right,  but  I  would  rather  have  my 
horse  than  that  one." 

The  steed  that  was  pointed  out  to  him  as  the 
property  of  the  escaped  prisoner  was  a  fine 
looking  animal,  and  the  fact  that  he  had  led 
his  pursuers  so  long  a  chase,  proved  that  he 


194  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

was  not  only  a  "goer"  but  a  "stayer"  as 
well ;  but  for  all  that  Rodney  wished  his 
friend  Tom  had  thought  it  safe  to  take  him 
and  leave  the  roari  colt. 

~-*'I  have  very  serious  objections  to  riding 
that  horse  through  the  counties  back  of  here," 
said  he  at  length.  "He  is  too  well  known  ; 
and  how  do  I  know  but  that  somebody  will 
bounce  me  for  a  horse-thief  ?  " 

"That's  a  most  disagreeable  fact,"  said  Mr. 
Westall,  reflectively.  "We  gave  a  descrip- 
tion of  him  to  every  man  and  boy  we  met 
along  the  road." 

"That  is  just  what  I  was  afraid  of.  Can't 
you  give  me  a  trade  for  him  ?  " 

"I  don't  see  how  we  can,  for  if  we  should 
take  the  horse  back  to  the  settlement  with  us, 
the  folks  there  would  be  sure  to  ask  how  we 
came  to  get  him  without  getting  the  thief, 
too  ;  see? " 

"AVell,  could  you  give  me  a  bill  of  sale 
of  him  ? "  asked  the  boy,  after  thinking  a 
moment. 

"When  I  don't  own  a  dollar's  worth  of 
interest  in  himT'    exclaimed  the  Emergency 


RODNEY   PROVES   HIS   FRIENDSHIP.        195 

man,  opening  his  eyes.  ' '  JS^ot  m  ucli  I  couldn't. 
I  tell  you,  young  fellow,  a  liorse  is  a  mighty 
ticklish  piece  of  property  to  have  in  these 
parts  unless  you  can  prove  a  clear  claim  to 
him." 

''  I  want  some  sort  of  a  paper  to  show  to  our 
friends  along  the  road,  don't  I?"  exclaimed 
Rodney,  who  began  to  think  that  his  chances 
for  seeing  Price's  army  were  getting  smaller 
all  the  time. 

"Oh,  that's  what  you  want,  is  it?"  said 
Mr.  Westall.  "  Well,  111  tell  you  what  we'll 
do  :  You  ride  with  us  as  far  as  the  road  where 
we  turn  off  to  go  to  Pilot  Knob,  and  then  I 
will  give  you  a  letter  that  will  help  you  if  you 
happen  to  fall  in  w^ith  any  of  our  side  ;  but 
you  must  be  careful  to  know  the  men  before 
you  show  the  letter  to  them,  for  if  you  should 
pull  it  on  a  Union  man,  you  would  get  your- 
self into  trouble.  JN'ow  let's  get  a  bite  to  eat 
and  start  for  home. 

This  made  it  evident  that  the  Emergency 
man  had  become  discouraged  with  his  ill-luck, 
and  did  not  intend  to  follow  Tom  Percival  any 
farther. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ON   THE   ROAD. 

THE  breakfast  wliicli  Nels  and  his  assistant 
placed  upon  the  table  in  due  time  was 
eaten  almost  in  silence,  for  those  who  sat  down 
to  it  had  so  much  thinking  to  do  that  they 
had  no  time  for  conversation.  When  Rodney 
Gray  had  satisfied  his  appetite  he  opened  his 
trunk  and  took  from  it  a  pair  of  saddle-bags, 
which  he  proceeded  to  fill  with  a  variety  of 
useful  articles.  His  thoughtful  mother  had 
packed  the  trunk  as  full  as  it  could  hold,  and 
Rodney  could  not  take  a  quarter  of  the  things 
with  him.  He  knew  he  couldn't  when  he 
started ;  but  the  trunk  was  necessary  to  aid 
him  in  the  game  of  deception  he  played  upon 
the  Baton  Rouge  telegraph  operators.  By 
taking  it  aboard  the  Mollie  Able^  together 
wdth  a  liberal  supply  of  hay  and  grain  for  his 
horse,  he  led  them  to  believe  that  he  w^as 
really  going  on  to  St.  Louis.     After  filling  the 

196 


ON  THE   ROAD.  197 

saddle-bags,  he  rolled  his  blankets  into  a  com- 
pact bundle  so  that  he  could  strap  them 
behind  him  on  his  horse. 

"I  have  left  a  good  many  things  in  there 
that  I  can't  take  with  me,"  said  he,  as  he 
locked  the  trunk  and  handed  the  key  to  Jeff. 
"And  if  I  don't  come  back  and  claim  them 
within  a  reasonable  time,  you  are  at  liberty  to 
take  them  for  your  own.  How  much  damage 
have  I  done  your  commissary  department 
since  I  have  been  here  ?  " 

* '  How  much  damage  have  you  done 
which?"  exclaimed  Jeff. 

"How  much  do  you  want  for  the  fodder  I 
and  my  horse  and  that  Yankee's  horse  have 
eaten?"  repeated  Rodney. 

"Oh;  why  didn't  you  say  so?  You  and 
your  horse  are  as  welcome  as  the  flowers 
in  May;  and  as  for  that  thief's  critter,  I 
wouldn'  t  let  you  pay  a  cent  for  him  any  way. 
But  I'm  sorry  you  aint  got  your  own  hoss  to 
ride  to  Springfield." 

"So  ami.  Mine  is  the  better  horse,  and 
besides  I  don't  at  all  like  the  idea  of  having 
every  man  I  meet  take  me  for  a  thief.     Have 


198  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 


you  a  revolver  you  would  be  willing  to  sell  at 
your  own  price  ?  " 

"  What  kind  of  a  fellow  are  you,  anyhow  ?" 
exclaimed  Mr.  Westall,  who  stood  by  listen- 
ing. "Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  have 
come  up  here,  intending  to  ride  through  these 
turbulent  settlements,  without  bringing  along 
something  to  defend  yourself  with  ?" 

' '  That  is  the  most  dangerous  article  I  have 
about  me,"  answered  Rodney,  putting  his 
hand  into  his  pocket  and  drawing  out  the  big 
jack-knife  Lieutenant  Odell  had  given  him  the 
day  before  he  left  home.  At  the  same  time  he 
wondered  wdiat  the  Emergency  man  would 
have  said  and  done  if  he  had  been  aware  that 
the  boy  to  whom  he  w^as  talking  had  brought 
a  revolver  with  him,  and  that  he  had  given  it 
to  Tom  Percival  to  defend  himself  in  case  he 
was  attacked. 

"  I  never  heard  of  a  more  foolish  piece  of 
business,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Westall,  with  an  air 
which  said  very  plainly  that  he  had  no  pati- 
ence with  such  a  fellow  as  Rodney  Gray  was. 
"  What  sort  of  people  did  you  think  you  were 
going  to  meet,  I  should  like  to  know.     I  sup- 


ON  THE   ROAD.  199 

pose  you  have  heard  that  there  are  JNJ'orthern 
sympathizers  in  this  State,  and  that  they  are 
about  the  meanest  folks  you  will  find  on  top 
of  the  earth?" 

"I  have  heard  all  about  it ;  but  I  supposed 
that  I  should  find  our  own  people  in  the  major- 
ity.    This  is  a  Southern  State,  isn't  it  ? " 

"In  some  places  they  are  in  the  majority 
and  in  some  they  are  not,"  replied  Mr.  Wes- 
talL  "Of  course  this  is  a  Southern  State; 
but  don't  you  know  that  those  Dutchmen  in 
St.  Louis  have  gone  back  on  Governor  Jack- 
son,  and  that  he  and  the  members  of  the  legis- 
lature have  had  to  run  for  their  lives  ?  Why, 
boy,  you  may  be  called  upon  to  defend  your- 
self in  less  than  an  hour  after  we  leave  you. 
Got  a  revolver  to  spare,  Jeff  ? ' ' 

"Aint  got  none  of  that  sort,"  replied  the 
wood-cutter.  "There  aint  nothing  but  rifles 
in  the  shanty." 

"Then  I  shall  be  obliged  to  let  you  have  one 
of  mine,"  said  the  Emergency  man,  taking  a 
belt  down  from  a  peg  beside  the  door,  and 
drawing  an  ancient  Colt  from  one  of  the  hol- 
sters.    I  may  be  able  to  replace  it  some  time 


200  EODXEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

or  otlier ;  but  whether  I  am  or  not,  you 
mustn't  think  of  starting  for  Springfield  with- 
out a  weapon  where  you  can  put  your  hand  on 
it.  It  is  rather  large  and  heavy  for  your 
pocket  and  you  have  no  belt ;  so  you  will 
have  to  shove  it  into  your  boot  leg.  That's  as 
handy  a  j)lace  to  carry  it  as  any  I  know  of." 

When  both  parties  are  willing  to  trade  it 
does  not  take  them  long  to  come  to  an  under- 
standing, and  in  a  very  short  time  some  of 
Rodney's  gold  went  into  Mr.  Westall's  pocket, 
and  the  revolver  into  the  leg  of  the  boy's  boot. 
In  ten  minutes  more  the  horses  had  been 
brought  out  of  the  yard  and  prepared  for  the 
journey,  Rodney  placing  his  own  saddle  and 
bridle  on  his  neAv  steed,  and  leaving  Tom's  for 
Jeff  to  dispose  of  in  any  way  he  saw  proper. 

''  I  reckon  I'm  just  that  much  ahead  of  the 
hounds,"  said  the  wood-cutter,  with  a  grin. 
''Tliat  hoss-thief  wont  never  dare  to  come 
after  his  saddle,  and  mebbe  it'll  bring  me  in  a 
few  dollars  for  tobacker.  Farewell,  and  be 
sure  and  drop  in  as  often  as  you  come  this 
way.  Look  out  for  yourself,  you  Louisanner 
feller." 


o:n'  the  road.  201 

The  path  that  ran  through  the  woods  to  the 
big  road  leading  from  Cape  Girardeau  to  Les- 
terville,  the  place  where  Rodney's  companions 
would  take  leave  of  him  and  turn  toward  Iron- 
ton,  was  all  of  three  miles  long,  and  so  narrow 
that  they  were  obliged  to  ride  in  a  single 
file.  Mr.  Westall  remarked,  with  a  careless 
laugh,  that  it  w^as  a  good  thing  for  them  that 
the  people  living  in  the  vicinity  w^ere  mostly 
Confederates,  for  the  woods  on  each  side  of  the 
path  Avere  thick,  and  would  afford  the  nicest 
kind  of  cover  for  a  bushwhacking  imrtj. 

"I  suppose  there  are  plenty  of  Union  i)eople 
between  here  and  your  settlement  T'  observed 
Rodney. 

"Lots  of  'em  ;  and  they  are  not  only  dead 
shots,  but  they  know  every  hog  path  in  the 
woods  and  are  as  sneaking  and  sly  as  so  many 
Indians.  They'll  fight,  too.  We  know  that 
to  be  a  fact,  for  we've  got  some  of  them  for 
near  neighbors." 

"Then  perhaps  it  is  just  as  well  that  you 
have  me  instead  of  Percival  with  you,"  said 
Rodney.  "If  you  had  taken  him  a  prisoner 
to  Pilot  Knob,  what  assurance  have  you  that 


202  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

you  would    not  have  been  busliwliacked  on 
the  way  1 ' ' 

"  None  whatever  ;  but  we  would  have  been 
willing  to  take  our  chances  on  it." 

The  Emergency  man  spoke  carelessly 
enough,  but  Kodney  noticed  that  he  had  not 
neglected  to  make  preparations  for  a  fight. 
The  single  revolver  his  belt  contained  had  been 
transferred  to  the  night  holster,  and  the  strap 
that  usually  passed  over  the  hammer  to  keep 
the  weapon  in  place,  had  been  unbuttoned  so 
that  the  heavy  Colt  could  be  drawn  in  an  in- 
stant. This  made  Rodney  feel  rather  uneasy. 
Perhaps  he  would  not  have  been  so  very 
frightened  at  the  prospect  of  a  fair  stand-up 
fight,  but  the  fear  that  somebody  might  cut 
loose  on  him  or  some  member  of  his  party  with 
a  double-barrel  shotgun  before  any  of  them 
knew  there  was  danger  near,  was  more  than 
his  nerves  could  stand.  He  was  glad  when 
they  left  the  woods  behind  and  rode  out  into 
the  highway  ;  but  it  wasn't  half  an  hour  before 
he  had  occasion  to  tell  himself  that  when  the 
Emergenc}^  men  took  leave  of  him  and  turned 
off  toward  their   own  settlement,   the  woods 


o 


ON  THE  ROAD.  203 

would  be  tlie  safest  place  for  him.  They  were 
riding  along  two  abreast,  Mr.  Westall  and 
Rodney  leading  the  way,  when,  as  they  came 
suddenly  to  a  narrow  cross-road,  they  found 
themselves  face  to  face  with  a  long-haired,  un- 
kempt native  mounted  on  the  leanest,  hun- 
griest mule  Rodney  had  ever  seen.  He  rode 
bare-back,  his  spine  bent  almost  in  the  form  of 
a  half  circle,  his  body  swaying  back  and  forth, 
and  with  every  step  his  beast  took  he  pounded 
its  sides  with  the  heels  of  his  boots— not  with 
the  object  of  inducing  the  mule  to  quicken 
its  pace,  but  because  the  motion  had  become 
a  habit  with  him.  He  was  surprised  and 
startled  when  he  found  himself  so  close  to  the 
Emergency  men,  and  partly  raised  the  muzzle 
of  the  heavy  double-barrel  shotgun  he  carried 
in  front  of  him  ;  but  a  second  glance  seemed  to 
relieve  his  fears,  for  he  grinned  broadly,  and 
waited  for  the  horsemen  to  come  up. 

"Wal,  ye  got  him,  didn't  ye?"  said  he; 
and  the  words  went  far  to  confirm  the  fear  that 
had  haunted  Rodney  Gray  ever  since  he 
found  that  Tom  Percival  had  gone  off  with 
the  roan  colt,  leaving  his  own  well-advertised 


204  EODNEY,  TJIE  PARTISAN". 


horse  behind  him.  This  ignorant  backwoods- 
man, who  didn't  look  as  though  he  knew 
enough  to  go  in  when  it  rained,  had  recognized 
the  horse  the  moment  he  i^ut  his  eyes  on  him. 

"Oh,  this  isn't  the  man  at  all,  Mister — a — I 
declare  I  have  disremembered  your  name," 
exclaimed  Mr.  Westall. 

''I  don't  reckon  ye  ever  knowed  it,  kase  I 
never  seed  hide  nor  hair  of  none  of  ye  afore 
this  day,"  replied  the  native,  with  another 
grin.  ''  But  it's  Swanson,  if  it  will  do  ye  any 
good  to  hear  it.  I  live  back  here  in  the  bresh 
about  a  coui3le  of  milds." 

"  How  does  it  come  that  you  are  so  prompt 
to  recognize  us  if  you  never  saw  us  before  ?  " 
inquired  Rodney. 

"Oh,  I  hearn  tell  that  there  was  some  of 
Jeff  Thompson's  men  riding  through  the  ken- 
try  looking  for  a  hoss-thief,  and  I  knowed  the 
hoss  when  I  seen  him.  But  ye  say  this  aint 
the  thief,"  ansAvered  the  native,  with  an  in- 
quiring glance  at  Mr.  Westall. 

"That  was  what  I  said,"  replied  the  Emer- 
gency man.  "  He  is  a  friend  of  ours,  belongs 
to  Price,  and  you  want  to  take  a  good  look  at 


ON   THE  ROAD.  205 

him  and  the  horse  too,  so  that  you  will  know 
them  again  if  you  happen  to  meet  them  any- 
where on  the  road." 

And  then  Mr.  Westall  went  on  to  tell  who 
Tom  Percival  was  and  where  he  lived,  not  for- 
getting to  lay  a  good  deal  of  stress  on  the 
statement  that  he  was  not  only  a  strong  Union 
man,  but  a  horse-thief  as  well.  This  made 
Rodney  angry,  but  of  course  he  couldn'  t  help 
himself. 

"  You  want  to  keep  a  bright  lookout  for  a 
young  fellow  in  his  stocking  feet,  riding  a 
bareback  roan  colt,"  said  the  Emergency  man, 
in  conclusion.  ''If  you  fall  in  with  such  a 
chap,  you  will  make  something  by  bringing 
him  to  Pilot  Knob  settlement  and  asking  for 
Mr.  Westall." 

'Til  keep  them  words  in  mind,"  replied  the 
native,  urging  the  mule  forward  by  digging 
him  in  the  ribs  with  his  boot  heels. 

"You'll  have  to  look  in  the  Avoods  for 
him,"  observed  the  man  Harvey.  "  It  isn't  at 
all  likely  that  he  Avill  keep  the  road  in  day- 
light when  he  hasn't  a  thing  to  defend  himself 
with." 


206  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 


I  aint  thinking  about  that  any  more'n  I 
am  about  him  having  no  boots  on,"  said  the 
Missourian,  looking  back  over  his  shoulder. 
' '  There's  plenty  of  mean  folks  in  this  kentry 
that'll  give  him  we' pons  and  clothes  for  the 
asking.  If  I  can't  get  the  drop  on  to  him,  I 
wont  say  a  word  to  him." 

"This  is  just  what  I  was  afraid  of,"  Rodney 
remarked,  when  the  man  had  passed  out  of 
hearing.  ''Every  one  who  meets  me  on  the 
road  will  look  upon  me  with  suspicion,  and 
perhaps  I  had  better  take  to  the  woods  my- 
self." 

"  Don't  think  of  it,"  answered  Mr.  Westall, 
hastily.  "  You  would  be  sure  to  lose  your 
way  and  stand  a  fine  chance  of  being  bush- 
whacked besides.  You  will  find  that  the 
boldest  course  is  the  best ;  and  that's  danger- 
ous enough,  goodness  knows,"  he  added,  in  an 
undertone. 

When  the  party  halted  for  dinner  the  scene 
we  have  just  described  was  re-enacted.  Before 
any  of  them  had  a  chance  to  say  a  word  the 
planter  at  w^hose  gate  they  stox)ped  began 
abusing  Rodney  in  the  strongest  language  he 


ON   THE   EOAD.  207 

could  command ;  and  he  was  such  a  rapid 
talker  that  he  succeeded  in  saying  a  good 
many  harsh  things  before  Mr.  Westall  and  his 
companions  could  stop  him.  When  he  was 
made  to  understand  that  he  had  committed  a 
blunder,  and  that  the  boy  was  as  good  a  Con- 
federate as  he  was  himself,  the  planter  was 
profuse  in  his  apologies. 

"Alight,"  said  he,  giving  Rodney  his  hand 
and  almost  pulling  him  out  of  his  saddle. 
"  I'm  sorry  for  what  I  said,  but  that  horse  made 
me  suspicion  you.  I  wouldn't  ride  him 
through  the  country  for  all  the  money  there  is 
in  Missoury.  You'd  best  give  uj)  trying  to 
find  Price  and  jine  in  with  Thompson's  men. 
You  wont  have  to  go  so  far  to  find  'em." 

Rodney  had  thought  of  that,  but  there  was 
Dick  Graham  !  He  could  not  give  up  the  hope 
of  finding  his  old  schoolmate  and  serving  out 
his  year  with  him. 

After  the  planter  had  given  the  Emergency 
men  a  good  dinner  he  brought  out  writing 
materials,  and  Mr.  Westall  proceeded  to  write 
the  letter  he  had  promised  to  give  Rodney, 
and  which  he  hoped  would  be  the  means  of 


208  ROD]S^EY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

taking  him  safely  throiigli  to  Springfield.  He 
and  all  Ms  friends,  the  planter  included, 
signed  it,  and  the  boy  tucked  it  into  his  boot 
leg. 

"  You  may  be  sure  that  I  shall  not  show  it 
to  any  Union  man,"  said  the  latter,  with  a 
smile.     *'  It  would  hang  me." 

When  they  passed  through  the  little  settle- 
ment of  Lesterville  about  three  o'clock  that 
afternoon,  Rodney  and  the  horse  he  rode 
attracted  attention  on  every  hand.  All  the 
farmers  in  the  country  for  miles  around 
seemed  to  have  flocked  into  town  to  discuss 
the  latest  news,  and  the  streets  were  full  of 
loungers,  every  one  of  whom  stared  at  the 
party  and  had  something  to  say  regarding  the 
boy,  who  was  supposed  to  be  a  prisoner.  On 
two  or  three  occasions  Mr.  Westall  thought  it 
prudent  to  stop  and  explain  the  situation ; 
and  every  time  he  did  so,  the  loungers  came 
running  from  all  directions  to  hear  about  it. 
Some  of  them  thought  that  Tom  Percival  had 
played  a  regular  Yankee  trick  on  Rodney  in 
running  off  with  the  roan  colt  and  leaving  him 
a  stolen  horse  to  ride,  and  advised  him  to  look 


ON   THE   ROAD.  209 

out  for  himself.  The  story  tliat  Mr.  Westall 
and  his  friends  had  circulated  about  Tom 
seemed  to  have  made  every  one  his  enemy. 

''I  suppose  you  think  every  man  we  have 
been  talking  to  is  a  Jackson  man,  don't 
you?"  said  Mr.  Westall,  when  they  had  left 
the  settlement  behind  and  reached  the  open 
country  once  more.  ''  Well,  they  aint.  I  saw 
some  Union  men  listening  to  what  we  said, 
and  if  they  see  a  roan  colt  and  a  boy  without 
any  boots  on,  they'll  halt  them  and  give  them 
aid  and  comfort." 

"lam  very  glad  to  hear  that,"  said  Rod- 
ney to  himself.  "Tom  needs  help,  if  any  one 
ever  did,  and  I  hope  he  will  get  it.  It's  going 
to  be  ticklish  business  steering  clear  of  Union 
men,  is  it  not?"  he  said,  aloud. 

Mr.  Westall  thought  it  was,  but  still  he  did 
not  have  very  mu^h  to  say  about  it,  for  since 
Kodney  was  resolved  to  go  on,  he  did  not 
want  to  discourage  him.  As  his  journey  pro- 
gressed he  would  learn  all  about  the  obstacles 
and  dangers  that  lay  in  his  course,  and  when 
they  came,  he  would  have  to  surmount  or  get 
around  them  the  best  way  he  could.     A  mile 


210  PwODNEY,  THE   PARTISAlSr. 

or  so  farther  on  they  came  to  another  cross- 
road, and  there  Mr.  Westall  drew  rein  and 
held  out  his  hand  to  Rodney. 

''Our  course  lies  off  that  way,"  said  he, 
"and  we  must  bid  you  good-by.  You've  got 
money  and  letters,  and  know  as  much  about 
the  road  ahead  of  you  and  the  people  who  live 
on  it  as  we  know  ourselves.  Is  there  any- 
thing we  can  do  for  you  that  you  think  of  ?  " 

"Not  a  thing,  thank  you,"  replied  the  boy, 
as  he  shook  hands  with  each  of  the  Emerg- 
ency men.  "  You  have  been  very  kind,  and  I 
believe  the  advice  and  information  you  have 
given  me  will  take  me  safely  through.  Good- 
by  ;  and  whenever  you  hear  that  Price  has 
whipiDed  the  Yankees,  you  may  know  that  I 
was  there  to  help  him  do  it." 

"That's  the  right  si)irit,  anyway.  I  like 
your  pluck,  and  if  we  see  you  again,  we  shall 
expect  to  see  you  wearing  an  officer's  uni- 
form." 

The  Emergency  men  lifted  their  hats  and 
galloped  off  down  the  cross-road,  and  Rodney 
Gray  was  left  alone  in  a  strange  country,  and 
with  letters  on  his  person  that  would  comj)ro- 


ON   THE   ROAD.  211 

mise  him  with  any  party  of  men  into  whose 
company  he  chanced  to  fall.  There  was  Tom's 
horse,  too.  The  animal  was  bound  to  bring 
his  rider  into  trouble  of  some  sort,  for  of 
course  a  descriiDtion  of  him  had  been  carried 
through  the  country  for  miles  in  advance. 
He  felt  savage  toward  the  innocent  beast 
which  was  carrying  him  along  in  an  easy  fox- 
trot, and  bitterly  hostile  toward  Tom  Percival 
who  had  blundered  into  his  way  when  he  Avas 
least  expecting  to  see  him. 

"  Why  didn't  he  stay  in  his  own  part  of  the 
State  where  he  belonged?"  thought  Rodney, 
spitefully.  "I  hope  to  goodness  the  Yan- 
kees— but  after  all  it  was  my  own  fault,  for 
didn't  I  hand  him  that  stick  and  give  him  the 
only  revolver  I  had  ?  And  he  couldn't  have 
got  his  own  horse  out  of  that  yard  without 
arousing  the  dogs.  It's  all  right,  and  I  wont 
quarrel  with  Tom  Percival." 

To  Rodney's  great  relief  he  did  not  meet  a 
man  that  afternoon  (no  doubt  the  farmers  had 
all  gone  into  town  to  talk  politics  with  their 
neighbors),  but  there  were  plenty  of  Avomen- 
folks  in  the  houses  along  the  road,  and  they 


212  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

had  their  full  share  of  curiosity.  They 
flocked  to  the  doors  and  windows  and  looked 
closely  at  him  as  he  passed,  and  Rodney  knew 
w^ell  enough  that  the  men  would  hear  all  about 
him  Avhen  they  came  home  at  night. 

When  darkness  came  on  Rodney  Gray 
began  to  realize  the  heli^lessness  of  his  posi- 
tion. It  was  time  he  was  looking  for  a  place 
to  stay  all  night,  but  what  should  he  say  to 
the  farmer  to  whom  he  applied  for  suj^per  and 
lodging  ?  If  he  told  the  truth  and  declared 
himself  to  be  a  Confederate,  and  the  farmer 
chanced  to  belong  to  the  opposite  side,  or  if 
he  tried  to  pass  himself  oif  for  a  Unionist  and 
the  farmer  proved  to  be  a  red-hot  Jackson 
man : 

"Ay,  there's  the  rub,"  thought  Rodney, 
looking  down  at  the  ground  in  deep  per- 
plexity. "  There' s  where  the  difficulty  comes 
in,  and  I  don't  know  how  to  decide  it." 

He  was  not  called  upon  to  decide  the  matter 
that  night,  for  while  these  thoughts  were  pass- 
ing through  his  mind,  a  voice  a  short  distance 
in  advance  of  him  began  shouting  :    - 

"Pig-g-e-e!    pig-g-i-i !   pig-g-o-o  !  "     And  a 


ON   THE   ROAD.  213 

chorus  of  squeals  and  grunts,  followed  by  a 
rush  in  the  bushes  at  the  side  of  the  road,  told 
him  that  the  call  had  been  heard,  and  that  the 
farmer's  hogs  were  making  haste  to  get  their 
sui)per  of  corn.  Before  Rodney  could  make 
up  his  mind  whether  to  stop  or  keep  on,  his 
horse  brought  him  from  behind  the  bushes 
which  had  covered  his  approach,  and  the  boy 
found  himself  within  less  than  twenty  feet  of 
a  man  in  his  shirt-sleeves,  who  stopped  his 
shouting  and  stood  with  an  ear  of  corn  up- 
lifted in  his  hand. 

^'  Evening,"  said  Rodney,  who  saw  that  it 
was  useless  to  retreat. 

'Til  be  dog-gone  !  "  said  the  man,  throwing 
the  ear  of  corn  with  unerring  aim  at  the  head 
of  the  nearest  porker  and  beckoning  to  Rod- 
ney with  both  hands.  ''  Come  out  of  the  road. 
Come  up  behind  the  bresh  and  be  quick  about 
it." 

Rodney  obeyed,  lost  in  wonder ;  but  as  he 
rode  across  the  shallow  ditch  that  ran  between 
the  road  and  the  fence  behind  which  the  far- 
mer stood,  he  did  not  neglect  to  give  his  right 
leg  a  shake  to  loosen  his  revolver,  which  dur- 


214  RODNEY,  THE   PAKTISAN.  . 

ing  his  long  ride  had  worked  its  way  down 
into  his  boot.  Of  course  the  farmer  had  made 
a  mistake  of  some  kind,  and  Rodney  was 
rather  anxious  to  learn  what  he  would  do 
when  he  found  it  out. 

''I  have  been  a-hoj)ing  that  you  would  come 
along  and  sorter  looking  for  it,"  continued  the 
man,  as  Rodney  drew  up  beside  the  fence. 
"But  I  didn't  dast  to  look  for  such  a  streak 
of  luck  as  this.     He's  waiting  for  you." 

''He?  Who?"  asked  Rodney;  and  then 
he  caught  his  breath  and  wondered  if  he  had 
done  wrong  in  speaking  before  the  man  had 
opportunity  to  explain  his  meaning. 

"  Tain' t  worth  while  for  you  to  play  off  on 
me,"  replied  the  farmer,  leading  the  way 
along  the  fence  and  motioning  to  Rodney  to 
follow.  "  I  know  the  whole  story  from  begin- 
ning to  end,  but  I  can't  take  you  where  he  is 
to  night.  You'll  have  to  stop  with  me  till 
morning,  but  you  and  the  critter' 11  have  to  be 
hid  in  the  bresh,  kase  Thompson's  men  aint 
gone  away  yet." 

Here  w^as  one  point  settled,  and  it  wasn't 
settled  to  the  boy's  satisfaction,  either.     The 


ON   THE  ROAD.  215 

man  on  the  other  side  of  the  fence,  who  now 
stopped  and  let  down  a  pair  of  bars  so  that  he 
conld  ride  through  into  the  barnyard,  was  a 
Union  man ;  and,  to  make  matters  worse  he 
took  Rodney  for  the  same.  But  what  was  that 
story  he  had  heard  from  beginning  to  end,  and 
who  was  it  that  was  waiting  for  him  ?  Rodney 
dared  not  speak  for  fear  of  saying  something 
he  ought  not  to  say,  and  so  he  held  his  peace. 
When  he  had  followed  his  guide  through  the 
yard  and  into  a  small  building  that  looked  as 
though  it  might  have  been  fitted  up  for  a  cow- 
stable,  the  latter  continued,  speaking  now  in 
his  natural  tone  of  voice  as  if  he  were  no 
longer  in  fear  of  being  overheard  : 

"  He  was  looking  for  me  all  the  time,  and  I 
knowed  it  the  minute  I  set  eyes  on  to  him." 

"Friend  of  yours?"  said  the  boy,  at  a 
venture. 

"In  a  sartin  way  he  are  a  friend,  but  I  never 
see  him  till  this  afternoon.  I  know  his  uncle 
up  to  Pilot  Knob,  and  when  I  see  him  riding 
by  the  house  and  looking  at  it  as  though  he'd 
like  to  say  something  if  he  wasn't  afraid,  I 
told  him  to  'light,  and  asked  him  wasn't  he 


216  EODNEF,  THE  PARTISAN. 

looking  for  Merrick.  That's  me,  you  know. 
He  said  he  was,  and  you  might  have  knocked 
me  down  with  a  straw  when  he  told  me  he  was 
kin  to  okl  Justus  Percival^  Why  don't  you 
'light?" 

The  farmer  might  have  knocked  Kodney 
down  with  a  straw  too,  if  he  had  had  one 
handy,  for  the  boy  was  very  much  surprised. 
He  got  off  his  horse  somehow  and  managed  to 
inquire  : 

"  What  did  he  tell  you  about  me  that  made 
you  know  me  as  quick  as  you  saw  me  ?  " 

''He  told  me  everything  about  you — how 
you  had  run  awa}^  from  Louisianner  kase  your 
folks  was  all  dead  set  agin  the  Union,  and 
come  up  to  Missoury  thinking  to  get  amongst 
people  of  your  own  way  of  thinking,  and  run 
plum  into  a  nest  of  traitors  before  you 
knowed  it." 

"  That  was  at  Cedar  Bluff  landing,  was  it  ?  " 
said  Rodney. 

"That's  the  place.  And  then  he  told  me 
how  you  played  off  on  them  wood- cutters  till 
you  made  'em  think  you  was  hot  agin  the 
Union,  same  as  they  was,  and  so  they  give  you 


ON   THE   llOAD.  217 

a  chance  to  holp  him  outen  that  corn-crib  and 
shove  him  a  revolver  to  take  care  of  himself 
with." 

''And  how  did  he  repay  my  kindness?" 
said  Rodney.  "  By  taking  my  colt  and  leav- 
ing me  a  stolen  horse  to  ride." 

''This  critter  wasn't  stolen  no  more'n  your'n 
was,"  replied  the  farmer,  in  tones  so  earnest 
that  Rodney  began  to  fear  he  had  stepped 
upon  dangerous  ground.  "That  was  a  lie 
that  man  Westall  and  amongst  'em  got  up  to 
drive  him  outen  his  uncle's  settlement.  This 
is  his  lioss  and  he's  got  your'n." 

"  Where  is  he  now  ?  " 

Instead  of  answering  the  farmer  gave  Rod- 
ney's arm  a  severe  gripe  and  shake,  and  then 
seized  the  horse  by  the  nose.  A  second  later 
they  heard  a  body  of  men  riding  along  the 
road  in  front  of  the  cow-stable. 

"  Don't  give  a  load  wink,"  said  the  farmer, 
in  a  thrilling  whisper.  "Them's  some  of 
Thompson's  critter-fellers." 


CHAPTER  X. 

COMPARING    NOTES. 

RODNEY  GRAY  held  his  breath  and 
listened,  and  then  he  stepped  close  to 
the  side  of  the  stable  and  looked  through  a 
crack  between  the  logs.  It  was  almost  dark 
by  this  time,  but  still  there  was  light  enough 
for  him  to  count  the  men  w^ho  were  riding  by, 
and  he  made  out  that  there  were  an  even  dozen 
of  them.  They  knew  enough  to  move  two 
abreast  but  not  enough  to  carry  their  guns, 
which  were  held  over  their  shoulders  at  all 
angles,  and  pointed  in  almost  every  direction. 

"Are  they  guerrillas?"  he  asked,  at 
length. 

'' Ger — which?"  whispered  the  farmer. 
*'  Them's  Thompson's  men,  and  I  don't  like  to 
see  'em  pointing  t'wards  the  swamp  the  w^ay 
they  be." 

"  What's  down  there  ?  "  inquired  Rodney. 

'JJWhy,  lie^ s  down  there,"  replied  Merrick, 

218 


COMPARING    NOTES.  219 

in    a  surprised      tone.      "Tom    Percival,     I 
mean." 

"  Anybody  with  him  ?  "  continued  Rodney. 

"  Half  a  dozen  or  so  Union  men,  who  had  to 
clear  out  or  be  hung  by  Thompson's  men," 
replied  the  farmer.  "  If  you  knowed  just  how 
things  stand  here  in  Missoury,  and  how  sot 
every  man  is  agin  his  nearest  neighbor,  I  don't 
reckon  you'd  ever  tried  to  ride  to  Spring- 
field." 

"I  am  quite  sure  I  wouldn't,"  answered 
Rodney.  "  How  do  Thompson's  men  happen 
to  know  that  Percival  is  hiding  down  there  in 
the  swamp  ?" 

"I  reckon  Swanson  must  a  told 'em;  and 
he's  the  meanest  man  that  w^as  ever  let  live,  as 
you  would  say  if  you  could  have  one  look  at 
his  face." 

"I  met  him  to-day  Avhile  I  was  riding  in 
company  with  Mr.  Westall  and  his  friends," 
replied  Rodney.  "They  made  him  believe  I 
was  a  good  rebel,  and  told  him  to  look  out  for 
a  boy  in  his  stocking  feet  who  was  mounted  on 
a  roan  colt." 

"And  that's  just  what  he  done.     I  reckon 


-220  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

he  must  a  ketclied  a  glimpse  of  Percival  just 
before  I  fetched  him  into  the  house,  for  I  had 
barely  time  to  hide  the  roan  colt  and  get  the 
boy  into  the  kitchen  before  I  seen  Swanson 
riding  by.  He  didn't  once  look  toward  the 
house  but  that  didn't  fool  me,  and  I  lost  no 
time  in  taking  Percival  into  the  swamp  where 
them  Union  friends  of  mine  is  hid.  Swanson 
went  right  on  past,  leaving  word  at  all  the 
houses  of  the  'Mergency  men  that  there  was  a 
Yankee  horse-thief  loose  in  the  kentry,  and 
they've  went  out  to  ketch  him.  They  know 
■where  he  is,  and  think  to  surround  him  and 
the  rest  of  the  Union  fellers  and  take  'em  in  in 
a  lump  ;  but  they'll  get  fooled.  There's  some 
sharp  men  in  that  party,  and  they  wont  allow 
themselves  to  be  surrounded." 

The  farmer  did  not  tell  this  story  in  a  con- 
nected w^ay  as  he  would  if  there  had  been  no 
danger  near.  He  kept  moving  from  one  side 
of  the  stable  to  another,  listening  and  peeping 
at  all  the  cracks,  and  talked  only  when  he 
stopped  to  take  the  horse  by  the  nose  to  pre- 
vent him  from  calling  to  those  that  were  jDass- 
ing  along  the  road  ;    but  he  said  enough  to 


COMPARING    NOTES.  221 

make  Rodney  very  uneasy.  Tom  Percival 
had  done  him  a  great  favor  by  telling  Merrick 
Avho  he  was,  describing  him  and  his  horse  so 
minutely  that  the  man  knew  tliem  the  instant 
he  saw  them,  and  Rodney  was  very  grateful  to 
him  for  it ;  but  that  sort  of  thing  must  not  on 
any  account  be  repeated.  It  must  be  stopped 
then  and  there  if  there  was  any  way  in  which 
it  could  be  done.  It  would  never  do  to  let 
Tom  keep  ahead  of  him,  spreading  a  descrip- 
tion of  himself  and  his  horse  among  the  farm- 
ers who  lived  along  the  old  post-road,  for  he 
might,  without  knowing  it,  take  a  Confederate 
into  his  confidence ;  and  suppose  Rodney 
should  afterward  fall  in  wdth  that  same  Con- 
federate and  show  him  the  letter  addressed  to 
Mr.  Percival,  and  which  was  intended  for  the 
eyes  of  Union  men  only  ?  The  Confedej^ate 
would  at  once  accuse  him  of  sailing  under 
false  colors,  and  trying  to  pass  himself  off  for 
one  of  Price's  soldiers  when  he  was  in  reality 
a  Lincolnite.  The  boy  shivered  when  he 
thought  of  the  consequences  of  such  a  mis- 
take. 

"I'll  tell  you  what's  a  fact,"   he  said,  to 


222  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAIS". 


himself,  stamping  about  the  stable  with  rather 
more  noise  than  he  ought  to  have  made,  seeing 
that  the  guerrillas  had  barely  had  time  to  get 
out  of  hearing.  ' '  The  farther  I  go  toward 
S]3ringfie]d,  the  deeper  I  seem  to  get  into 
trouble.  I  must  either  find  Tom  and  ride  the 
rest  of  the  way  with  him,  or  else  I  must  get 
ahead  of  him.  If  I  don't  do  one  or  the  other 
he  will  put  me  into  a  scrax3e  that  I  can't  work 
out  of." 

"  Now  you  stay  here  and  I  will  go  out  and 
snoop  around  a  bit,"  said  Merrick,  when  the 
sound  of  the  hoof-beats  could  be  no  longer 
heard.  "  What  I  am  afraid  of  is  that  they 
will  leave  some  of  their  men  to  watch  the 
house." 

"Do  your  neighbors  know  that  you  are  a 
Union  man  ?"  asked  Rodney,  as  he  stepped  up 
and  took  the  horse  by  the  bits. 

"They  know  I'm  neutral,  and  that's  just 
about  as  bad  as  though  they  knew  I  was 
Union,"  was  the  reply.  "They  aint  done 
nothing  to  me  yet  but  I  know  I'm  watched, 
and  so  I  have  to  mind  what  I  am  about.  If 
the  men  who  just  went  by  knew  how  I  feel,  I 


COMPARING    NOTES.  223 

woaldn't  dast  to  lift  a  hand  to  help  you. 
They'd  have  me  hung  to  one  of  my  shade  trees 
before  morning." 

As  Merrick  spoke  he  glided  out  into  the 
darkness,  and  Rodney  Avas  left  alone  to  think 
over  the  situation  ;  but  Merrick  had  not  been 
gone  more  than  live  minutes  when  the  horse 
indicated  by  his  actions  that  there  was  some 
one  approaching  the  stable.  Presently  a  twig 
snapi^ed,  a  hand  was  passed  along  the  wall 
outside  and  a  figure  appeared  in  the  doorway. 
It  wasn't  tall  enough  for  Merrick,  and  besides 
it  had  a  coat  on.  Believing  that  it  was  one  of 
Thompson's  men  who  had  been  left  behind  to 
watch  the  house,  Rodney  drew  his  revolver 
from  his  boot  leg  and  cocked  it  as  he  raised  it 
to  a  level  with  his  eyes  and  covered  the 
figure's  head. 

"Don't  shoot,  Merrick,"  said  the  intruder, 
who  had  probably  heard  the  click  of  the  ham- 
mer. "What's  the  good  of  helping  a  fellow 
one  hour  if  you  are  going  to  shoot  him  the 
next?" 

"Tom  Percival  1 "  exclaimed  Rodney,  in 
guarded  tones. 


224  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAIST. 

In  an  instant  the  figure  sprang  into  the 
stable  and  seized  Rodney  in  his  arms. 

"Did  anybody  ever  hear  of  such  luck?" 
said  Tom,  who  was  the  first  to  recover  his 
power  of  speech.  '^  Where  are  you  going  and 
what  business  have  you  got  up  here  in  my 
State,  you  red-hot  rebel  ? " 

"  I  never  expected  to  be  on  such  terms  with 
a  Yankee  horse-thief,"  answered  Rodney, 
letting  down  the  hammer  of  his  revolver  and 
putting  the  weapon  back  in  its  iDlace. 

"I  knew  just  how  much  faith  you  would 
put  in  that  outrageous  story,"  said  Tom.  "It 
was  got  up  against  me  on  purpose  to  induce 
the  planters  in  my  uncle's  settlement  to  run 
me  out." 

"To  hang  you,  you  mean,"  corrected  Rod- 
ney. "That's  what  they  would  have  done 
with  you  before  to-morrow  morning." 

"  If  it  hadn't  been  for  you,"  added  Tom  ;  and 
he  did  not  talk  like  a  boy  who  had  so  narrowly 
escaped  with  his  life.  "  I  heard  your  story 
down  there  in  Jeff's  cabin,  and  knew  that 
you  kept  your  promise  and  enlisted  within 
twenty-four  hours  after  joii   reached   home. 


COMPARING    NOTES.  225 

And  I  know,  too,  that  yonr  company  didn't 
want  to  join  the  Confederate  army  or  leave  tlie 
State.  What  did  they  want  to  do  then? 
They're  a  pretty  lot  of  soldiers.  Well,  it's  a 
good  thing  for  them  that  they  stayed  at  home, 
for  you  rebels  are  going  to  get  such  a  licking — " 

"Have  you  licked  Dick  Graham  back  into 
a  proper  frame  of  mind  yet  ? ' '  interrupted 
Rodney. 

,  ^'No.  Haven't  had  the  chance.  He  helped 
raise  the  first  company  of  partisans  that  left 
the  southwestern  part  of  the  State  to  join 
Price,  and  I  have  scarcely  heard  of  him  since. 
I  had  a  lively  time  dodging  Price's  men  when  I 
went  UX3  to  St.  Louis  to  offer  the  services  of  my 
company  to  Lyon,  and  when  I  heard  you  tell 
Westall  that  you  were  going  to  undertake  the 
same  kind  of  a  journey,  I  felt  sorry  for  you. 
I  am  overjoj-ed  to  see  and  have  a  chance  to 
speak  to  you,  Rodney,  but  I  don't  know 
whether  we  ought  to  stick  together  or  not. 
Of  course  Merrick  took  you  for  a  Union  man," 
added  Tom,  in  a  suppressed  whisper. 

"  Certainly.  I  didn't  have  much  to  say  to 
him  until  I  found  out  who  he  thought  I  was. 


226  KODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


Did  you  go  it  blind  when  you  addressed  him 
as  a  Union  man  ?" 

*'  Oh,  no.  I  Ivnow  the  name  of  every  man  it 
will  do  to  trust  for  twenty  miles  ahead," 
replied  Tom.  "  But  I've  got  his  name  in  my 
head.  I  haven't  a  scrap  of  writing  about  me, 
and  I  am  sorry  to  know  that  you  have.  Take 
my  advice  and  stick  everything  in  the  shajDe 
of  a  letter  you  have  in  your  pockets  into  the 
lire  the  first  good  chance  you  get." 

"I  have  been  thinking  about  that  all  the 
afternoon.  What  if  I  should  fall  in  with  a 
party  strong  enough  to  search  me?  I've  got 
a  letter  addressed  to  Erastus  Percival." 

''Where  in  the  world  did  you  get  it?" 
demanded  Tom,  who  was  greatly  astonished. 
''Man  alive,  he's  my  father." 

"  So  I  supposed.  It  was  given  to  me  by 
Captain  Howard  whose  acquaintance  I  made 
aboard  the  Mollie  Able,  and  he  got  it  from  a 
friend  of  his." 

"My  limited  knowledge  of  the  English 
language  will  not  permit  me  to  do  this  subject 
justice,"  declared  Tom.  He  looked  around 
for  something  to  sit  down  on,  and  then  leaned 


COMPARING    NOTES,  227 

against  the  wall  for  support.  ''  My  father  has 
heard  of  you  and  would  have  helped  you  at 
the  risk  of  his  life.  He  wouldn't  go  back  on  a 
Barrington  boy  any  more  than  I  would  ;  but 
if  you  should  be  searched  by  rebels  anywhere 
between  here  and  Springfield,  that  letter  would 
hang  you.  Burn  it  before  you  take  the  road 
to-morrow." 

"If  your  father  is  so  well  known,  I  don't 
see  why  his  neighbors  haven't  hung  him  before 
this  time,"  said  Rodney. 

"It's  safer  to  try  the  bushwhacking  game, 
and  he  has  been  shot  at  three  times  already. 
He  doesn't  expect  to  live  to  see  the  end  of 
these  troubles,  but  he  is  like  your  cousin 
Marcy  Gray — he  doesn't  haul  in  his  shingle 
one  inch.     Burn  that  letter,  I  tell  you." 

"  I  didn't  intend  to  present  it  unless  I 
had  to,"  replied  Rodney.  "Now,  then,  what 
brought  you  here  ?  I  thought  you  were  hid- 
den in  the  swamp  along  with  some  other 
refugees." 

"  So  I  was  ;  but  I  came  back  on  purpose  to 
see  if  Merrick  had  heard  anything  from  you. 
I  was  on  my  way  to  the  house  when  I  thought 


228  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


I  would  stop  and  look  in  here.  I  was  hidden 
in  the  bushes  when  tliose  Emergency  men  rode 
down  the  road.  Of  course  they  are  going  to 
the  swamp,  and  I  don't  know  whether  I  can 
get  back  there  to-night  or  not.  I  wonder  how 
they  got  on  to  my  track  so  quick." 

Rodney  said  that  Merrick  thought  it  was 
through  old  man  Swanson.  Tom  replied  that 
he  had  never  heard  of  such  a  man,  and  Rod- 
ney went  on  to  tell  of  his  accidental  meeting 
with  him  at  the  cross-roads,  adding  : 

''  Mr.  Westall  told  him  that  I  and  my  horse 
were  all  right,  and  not  to  be  interfered  with, 
and  that  he  would  make  something  by  keej)- 
ing  a  bright  lookout  for  a  boy  without  any 
boots  on,  and  a  roan  colt.  One  of  the  party 
also  told  him  that  you  were  unarmed,  but 
Swanson  didn't  take  much  stock  in  that.  He 
declared  that  there  were  plenty  of  people  in 
the  country  who  would  be  mean  enough  to 
give  you  clothes  and  weapons  for  the  asking, 
and  I  reckon  he  was  about  right.  I  gave  you 
a  revolver  and  I  see  some  one  else  has  fur- 
nished you  with  a  pair  of  boots.  Now,  didn't 
you  know,  when  you  ran  off  with  my  horse, 


COMPARING    IS^OTES.  229 

leaving  yours  for  me  to  ride,  that  every  man 
I  met  would  take  me  for  you  ? ' ' 

"  That's  a  fact,"  replied  Tom,  "but  I  never 
thought  of  it  before.  But  I  couldn't  get  my 
horse  out  of  the  yard  without  scaring  the 
others,  and  so  I  had  to  do  the  best  I  could. 
ISTow  that  I  think  of  it,  perhaps  we  had  better 
let  the  trade  stand  a  little  while  longer." 

*'0h,  do  you  ? "  exclaimed  Rodney.  "  You 
have  good  cheek  I  must  say." 

''It  isn't  cheek  at  all,  but  a  desire  to  keep 
you  out  of  trouble  as  long  as  I  can,"  answered 
Tom. 

"Making  me  ride  a  horse  that  has  been 
advertised  all  through  the  country  as  stolen 
property  is  a  good  way  to  keep  me  out  of 
trouble,  isn't  it  now?"  said  Rodney.  "I 
never  should  have  thought  of  it  if  you  hadn't 
mentioned  it." 

"Hold  on  a  bit,"  replied  Tom.  "  ISTo  one 
in  this  section  is  looking  for  you  now.  You 
can  take  the  road  and  keep  it,  and  the  horse 
you  ride  will  not  bring  you  into  trouble  ;  but 
if  that  roan  colt  shows  his  nose  where  any- 
body can  see  it,  he'll  be  nabbed  quicker  n  a 


230  KODNEY,  THE   PARTISAi:^. 

flash,  and  his  rider  too.  See  ?  As  I  am  a  lit- 
tle more  experienced  in  dodging  about  in  the 
bushes  than  you  are,  you  had  better  let  me 
take  the  risk." 

"  I  never  could  look  a  white  man  in  the  face 
again  if  I  should  do  that,"  answered  Eodney. 
''  Don't  you  know  what  will  be  done  with  you 
if  you  are  caught  ?  " 

'^  I  shan't  run  anymore  risk  than  you  did 
when  you  helped  me  get  out  of  that  corn- 
crib,"  said  Tom,  reaching  for  his  schoolmate's 
hand  in  the  dark  and  giving  it  a  hearty  squeeze. 
"  Don't  you  know  what  would  be  done  to  you 
if  you  were  caught  with  that  roan  colt  in  your 
possession  %  You  w^ould  be  taken  back  to  Mr. 
WestalPs  settlement,  and  when  he  saw  that 
you  were  riding  the  same  horse  you  rode  when 
you  came  to  Cedar  Bluff  landing,  wouldn't  he 
want  to  know  where  you  got  him  ?  Can  j^ou 
think  of  any  answers  you  could  give  that 
would  satisfy  him  ?  I'll  trade  revolvers,  if 
you  want  yours  back  (I  know  you've  got  one, 
for  I  heard  you  cock  it  when  I  came  to  the 
door),  but  I  really  think  you  had  better  let  me 
keep  your  horse  a  little  while  longer.     I  hear 


co:mparing  notes.  231 

somebody  coming,"  he  added,  stepping  to  the 
nearest  crack  and  looking  out.  "It's  Mer- 
rick.    I  can  see  his  white  shirt." 

A  moment  later  the  owner  of  the  stable 
came  in.  and  was  not  a  little  surprised  when 
he  heard  himself  addressed  by  the  boy  whom 
he  supposed  to  be  snugly  hidden  in  the  deep- 
est and  darkest  nook  of  the  swamp.  Tom 
told  him  why  he  had  come  back  instead  of 
keeping  out  of  sight,  and  asked  what  had 
become  of  the  squad  of  men  he  saw  riding 
along  the  road  a  while  before. 

"  They  kept  on  as  far  as  I  could  hear  'em," 
replied  the  farmer,  "and  if  they  left  any  one 
behind  to  watch  the  house,  they  were  so  sly 
about  it  that  I  never  seen  it." 

"  Of  course  it  was  broad  daylight  when  Tom 
came  to  your  house,"  said  Rodney.  "Well, 
how  do  you  know  but  that  man  Swanson  saw 
him  when  he  went  in  ? " 

"  I  don't  know  it,"  replied  Merrick.  "  But 
even  if  he  did  see  Percival  go  in,  these  'Mer- 
gency  men  wont  never  say  a  word  to  me  about 
it,  kase  they  know  well  enough  that  if  they 
should  hurt  a  hair  of  my  head,    some  of  my 


232  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

friends  would  bushwhack  'em  to  pay  for 
it.  They  would  send  word  over  into  the  next 
county,  and  some  fellers  from  there  would  ride 
over  some  dark  night  and  set  my  buildings 
a-going,  or  pop  me  over  as  quick  as  they 
would  a  squirrel,  if  they  could  get  a  chance  at 
me.  That's  the  way  we  do  business  nowa- 
days, and  that's  the  reason  Ave  don't  never  go 
to  the  door  when  somebody  rides  up  and  hails 
the  house  after  dark." 

*'  Why,  I  wouldn't  live  in  such  a  country," 
said  Rodney. 

"What  would  you  do,  if  everything  you 
had  in  the  world  was  right  here  and  you 
couldn't  sell  it  and  get  out?"  replied  the 
farmer.  "You'd  stay  and  look  out  for  it,  I 
reckon,  and  make  it  as  hot  as  you  could  for 
any  one  who  tried  to  drive  you  away.  But 
driving  is  a  game  two  can  play  at,"  added 
Merrick,  with  a  low  chuckle ;  and  Rodney 
noticed  that  he  ceased  speaking  once  in  a 
while  and  turned  his  head  on  one  side  as  if 
he  were  listening  for  suspicious  sounds.  "I 
don't  say  I  have  rode  around  of  nights  myself 
and  I  don't  say  I  aint ;  but  I  do  say  for  a  fact 


COMPARING    NOTES.  233 

that  if  you  go  over  into  the  next  connty,  you 
wont  find  so  many  men  there  who  make  a 
business  of  shooting  Union  folks  as  there  used 
to  be.  Some  jjarts  of  the  kentry  t'other  side 
the  ridge  looks  as  though  they  had  been  struck 
by  a  harry  cane  that  had  blew  away  all  the 
men  and  big  boys." 

This  was  what  Captain  Howard  must  have 
meant  when  he  warned  Rodney  that  every  lit- 
tle community  in  the  Southern  part  of  the 
State  was  divided  into  two  hostile  camps. 
This  was  partisan  warfare,  and  Rodney  wanted 
to  be  a  partisan. 

' '  Is  that  the  sort  of  partisan  you  are, 
Tom?"  he  inquired,  when  Merrick  w^ent  out 
again  to  see  if  it  would  be  safe  for  them  to  go 
into  the  kitchen  and  get  supper.  ''I  wish  I 
had  had  sense  enough  to  stay  at  home." 

''I  wish  to  goodness  you  had,"  said  Tom 
honestly.  "Not  but  that  you've  got  as 
much  sense  as  most  boys  of  your  age,  but  you 
know  as  well  as  I  do  that  the  Barrington 
fellows  used  to  say  you  didn't  always  know 
what  you  w^ere  about.  Why,  wdien  1  heard 
you  telling  your  story  to  Mr.   Westall  down 


234  EODNEY,  THE   PAKTISAN. 

there  in  Jeff's  slianty,  it  was  all  I  could  do  to 
keep  from  saying,  right  out  loud,  that  such  a 
piece  of  foolishness  had  never  come  under  my 
notice  before." 

"  Where  would  you  be  at  this  moment  if  I 
hadn't  been  in  Jeff's  cabin  last  night?"  re- 
torted Kodney. 

"Well,  that's  a  fact,"  said  Tom  thought- 
fully. "  About  the  time  I  felt  that  stick  and 
revolver  in  my  hands,  I  was  miglity  glad  you 
were  around  ;  but  as  soon  as  I  had  used  them, 
I  wished  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart  that  you 
were  safe  back  in  your  own  State.  But  since 
you  are  here,  I  am  going  to  do  my  level  best 
for  you  ;  and  that's  the  reason  I  am  going  to 
keep  your  horse  a  little  longer.  If  I  don't 
give  him  back  to  you  some  day,  you  can  keep 
mine  to  remember  me  by." 

"And  every  time  I  look  at  him,  I  shall  be 
reminded  that  I  have  been  taken  for  a  horse- 
thief,"  added  Kodney. 

"You  are  no  more  of  a  horse-thief  than  I 
am.  Let  that  thought  comfort  you.  How  is 
it,  Merrick?"  he  went  on,  addressing  himself 
to  the  farmer  who  at  that  moment  glided  into 


COMPARING    NOTES.  235 

the  stable  with  noiseless  footstep.  '^Can  we 
go  in  and  get  snipper,  or  will  it  be  safer  for 
you  to  bring  it  out  to  us  ? " 

"You  are  to  come  right  in,"  was  the  far- 
mer's welcome  reply.  "It'll  be  safe,  for  I 
have  cleared  the  kitchen  of  everybody  excex)t 
the  old  woman.     She's  Secesli  the  very  worst 

ft/ 

kind,  but  that  needn't  bother  you  none.  She 
knows  how  to  get  up  a  good  supper." 

"  That  is  a  matter  that  has  a  deeper  interest 
for  us  just  now  than  her  x^olitics,"  said  Tom. 
"  But  what  shall  we  do  with  the  horse  ?  " 

"As  soon  as  I  have  showed  you  the  wav  to 
the  table  I'll  come  back  and  stay  with  him  so't 

«/ 

he  wont  whinny,"  answered  Merrick.  "If 
them  'Mergency  men  heard  him  calling  they 
might  think  it  was  one  of  my  own  critters  and 
then  agin  they  mightn't ;  so  it's  best  to  be  on 
the  safe  side." 

That  the  farmer  was  very  much  afraid  that 
the  horse  might  betray  his  presence  to  the 
guerrillas  was  evident  from  the  way  he  acted. 
He  took  long,  quick  steps  when  he  started  for 
the  house,  gave  the  two  boys  a  hurried  intro- 
duction to  his  wife,  saw  them  seated  at  the 


236  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

table  and  then  ran  out  again.  Mrs.  Merrick 
remained  in  the  room  to  wait  upon  them,  and 
that  was  an  arrangement  that  Tom  Percival 
did  not  like  ;  for  although  she  proved  to  be  a 
pleasant  and  agreeable  hostess  and  never  said 
a  word  about  politics,  Tom  did  not  think  it 
safe  to  talk  too  freely  in  her  presence,  and 
took  the  first  opportunity  that  was  offered  to 
give  Rodney  a  friendly  w^arning. 

"After  you  have  been  in  this  country  a 
while,  you  will  find  that  the  women  are  worse 
rebels  than  the  men,"  said  he,  in  an  undertone. 
.''I  don't  suppose  she  would  lead  the  Emer- 
gency men  on  to  us,  for  that  would  get  Merrick 
into  trouble  ;  but  such  things  have  been  done 
in  the  settlement  where  I  live.  We  can't  do 
any  more  talking  at  present.  Have* another 
piece  of  the  toast  ?  " 

*'  If  I  had  passed  through  as  many  dangers 
as  you  have  and  had  as  narrow  an  escape,  I 
don't  think  I  could  eat  as  you  do,"  said  Rod- 
ney, who  took  note  of  the  fact  that  his  friend 
had  not  lost  any  of  his  appetite  since  he  left 
Barrington. 

^Tve  had  three  good  meals  to-day,  and  a 


COMPARING    NOTES.  237 

hearty  lunch  in  the  swamp  ;  but  I  don't  know 
when  I  have  been  so  hungry,"  replied  Tom; 
and  then  seeing  that  Rodney  cast  occasional 
glances  toward  the  kitchen  stove  in  which  a 
bright  fire  was  burning,  he  continued,  in  an 
earnest  whisper,  "This  is  as. good  a  chance  as 
you  will  have.  Chuck 'em  in,  and  you'll  not 
regret  it ;  but  if  you  have  no  objections,  I 
should  like  to  read  them  before  you  do  it. 
I'll  keep  mum." 

Rodney  knew  that,  and  forthwith  produced 
the  letters,  which  had  been  a  source  of  anxiety 
to  him  ever  since  they  came  into  his  possession, 
and  also  Mr.  Graham's  last  telegram.  Tom 
said  he  did  not  know  either  of  the  men  whose 
names  were  signed  to  the  letters  that  came 
through  Captain  Howard,  but  he  was  better 
acquainted  with  Mr.  West  all  and  his  four  com- 
panions than  he  cared  to  be. 

"The  man  who  wrote  this  letter  to  Erastus 
Percival,  my  father,  must  be  some  one  down 
the  river  who  has  had  business  dealings  with 
him  ;  but  I  don't  know  the  gentleman,"  said 
he,  after  he  had  run  his  eye  over  the  various 
documents.     "Put   the  whole  business  right 


238  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

into  the  stove.  You  don't  want  any  sucli 
i:)apers  about  you,  for  you  don't  know  whom 
you  are  going  to  meet  on  the  road.  Trust  to 
luck  ;  stare  Fate  in  the  face,  and  your  heart 
will  be  aisy  if  it's  in  the  right  place." 

If  Mrs.  Merrick  was  surprised  or  suspected 
anything  when  Rodney  ^iit  the  letters  into 
her  stove  and  stood  over  them  long  enough  to 
see  them  reduced  to  ashes,  she  made  no 
remark.  As  he  was  about  to  return  to  his  seat 
at  the  table  there  came  a  sound  that  arrested 
his  steps,  and  brought  Tom  Percival  out  of  his 
chair  in  a  twinkling.  The  doors  and  windows 
were  all  closed  (the  curtains  were  pulled  down 
as  well,  so  that  no  one  on  the  outside  could  see 
into  the  room),  but  the  words,  which  were 
uttered  in  a  muffled  voice,  came  distinctly  to 
their  ears  : 

» 

"Hallo,  the  house!" 

"There  they  are,"  whispered  Tom,  thrust- 
ing his  hand  into  his  breast  i^ocket  and  glanc- 
ing toward  Rodney  as  if  to  assure  himself  that 
the  latter  could  be  depended  on  in  an  emer- 
gency. 

"  Sit  down  and  keej)  perfectly  quiet,"  said 


'X. 

O 

C 


COMPARING    NOTES.  239 

Mrs.  Merrick,  in  a  calm  tone.  ''They  are 
ready  to  shoot,  and  you  mustn't  move  about 
for  fear  of  throwing  your  shadow  upon  one  of 
the  window  curtains." 

"Are  they  looking  for  your  husband?" 
Kodney  managed  to  ask. 

"  I  suppose  they  are,"  answered  the  w^oman, 
who  did  not  even  change  color.  ' '  I  will  go  to 
the  door  and  find  out." 

"You  mustn't,"  protested  Rodney.  "Mr. 
Merrick  said  he  didn'  t  take  any  notice  of  hails 
after  dark." 

"He  doesn't,  but  I  do,"  replied  the  wife. 
"Somebody  must  answer,  or  we  couldn't  live 
in  this  country  a  day  longer." 

"Do  you  recognize  the  voice ? " 

"Of  course  not,"  said  Tom  Percival. 
"They  are  strangers  from  some  other  county." 

"Why  can't  we  go  with  her  and  return 
their  fire,"  exclaimed  Rodney,  as  Mrs.  Mer- 
rick left  the  room  and  moved  along  the  wide 
hall  toward  the  front  door.  "I'll  not  stay 
here  like  a  bump  on  a  log  and  let  her  be  shot 
at,  now  I — " 

"Come  back   here.     Sit    down  and  behave 


240  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

yourself  or  you'll  play  smash,"  said  Tom, 
earnestly.  "They'll  not  harm  her.  It's  her 
husband  they  are  after.     Now  listen." 

Rodney  sat  down  in  the  nearest  chair,  rested 
the  hand  that  held  his  revolver  on  the  table, 
and  waited  and  listened  with  as  much  patience 
as  he  could  command. 


V 


CHAPTER  XL 


KODNEY   MAKES   A   TRADE. 

*'"^"^0U  are  a  pretty  partisan,    you   are," 


Y' 


whispered  Tom  Percival,  while  they 
were  waiting  for  Mrs.  Merrick  to  open  the 
frontdoor.  ^' Those  men  outside  are  friends 
of  yours,  and  yet  you  stand  ready  to  fight 
them." 

"  I  don't  claim  friendship  with  any  cowardly 
bushwhacker,"  answered  Rodney  hotly.  "I 
don't  collogue"^  with  any  such." 

"Then  you'll  have  to  do  one  of  two  things," 
said  Tom.  *'  Go  home  and  stay  there,  or  else 
join  the  Confederate  army.  Nearly  every  man 
in  Missouri  is  a  bushwhacker.     Now  listen." 

Tom  did  not  follow  his  own  suggestion,  for 
when  he  heard  the  front  door  creak  on  its 
hinges,  he  laid  down  his  revolver  and  covered 
his  ears  with  his  hands.     This  made  Rodney 

*Associate. 
241 


242  EODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

turn  as  white  as  a  sheet  and  get  upon  his  feet 
again,  fully  expecting  to  hear  the  roar  of  a 
shotgun,  followed  by  the  clatter  of  buckshot 
in  the  hall  ;  but  instead  of  that,  there  came 
the  calm,  even  tones  of  Mrs.  Merrick's  voice 
inquiring : 

"What  is  it?" 

"If  I  had  that  woman's  pluck  I'd  be  a 
general  before  this  thing  is  over,"  said  Rod- 
ney, "I've  always  heard  that  a  woman  had 
more  courage  than  a  man  and  now  I  know  it." 

"Listen,"  repeated  Tom,  who  had  by  this 
time  taken  his  hands  down  from  his  ears. 

There  was  no  immediate  response,  for  the 
party  at  the  gate  had  looked  for  somebody 
else  to  answer  their  hail.  Presently  the  same 
muffled  voice  inquired  : 

"  Is  Mr.  Merrick  to  home  ? " 

"  He  was  a  few  minutes  ago,  but  he  is  not  in 
now,"  said  his  wife.  "Have  you  any  word  to 
leave  for  him  ? ' ' 

"No,  I  don't  reckon  we  have.  We'll 
ketch — we'll  see  him  some  other  time." 

"  Who  shall  I  say  called  V 

"It  don't  matter.     We're  friends  of  his'n 


RODNEY    MAKES    A   TRADE.       ,  243 

who  wanted  to  see  him  on  business.  Good- 
night." 

''Good-night,"  replied  Mrs.  Merrick,  as  if 
her  suspicions  had  not  been  roused  in  the 
slightest  degree  ;  and  then  she  shut  the  door 
and  came  back  into  the  kitchen.  She  was 
pale  now  and  trembling ;  and  Eodney  made 
haste  to  offer  her  a  chair  while  Tom  poured 
out  a  glass  of  water. 

"I  told  you  they  wouldn't  hurt  her,"  he 
found  opportunity  to  say  to  Rodney.  "But 
if  Merrick  had  gone  to  the  door  he  would  have 
been  full  of  buckshot  now." 

"  They  might  as  well  shoot  her  as  to  scare 
her  to  death,"  replied  Rodney.  "This  is  a 
terrible  state  of  affairs." 

"I  believe  you.  And  Ave  haven't  seen  the 
beginning  of  it  yet.  What  have  they  got 
against  your  husband  any  way,  Mrs.  Mer- 
rick 1" 

The  woman  kept  her  eyes  fastened  upon 
Tom's  face  while  she  drank  a  portion  of  the 
water  he  had  poured  out  for  her,  and  then  she 
handed  back  the  glass  with  the  remark  : 

"  Mr.  Merrick  is  Union  and  so  are  you." 


244  KODNEY,  THE   PARTIS  ATT. 

''  How  do  you  know  that  ?  "  demanded  Tom. 
*'  Has  he  told  yon  my  story  ?  " 

^ '  He  hasn'  t  said  a  word  ;  but  I  have  been 
over  to  a  neighbor's  this  afternoon,  and  while 
I  was  there,  I  saw  you  and  a  roan  horse  go 
into  our  cow-lot.  A  little  while  afterward  old 
Swanson  rode  up  and  told  us  about  a  Yankee 
horse-thief  who  was  going  through  the  coun- 
try, trying  to  reach  Springfield.  That  shows 
how  fast  news  travels  these  times.  And  that 
isn't  all  I  know,"  she  added,  nodding  at  Rod- 
ney. "You  are  as  good  a  Confederate  as 
I  am." 

' '  Then  how  does  it  come  that  I  am  collogu- 
ing with  a  Yankee  horse-thief?"  exclaimed 
Rodney,  who  wanted  to  learn  how  much  the 
woman  really  knew  about  him  and  his  friend. 

"That  is  something  I  do  not  pretend  to 
understand,"  was  the  answer.  "But  there 
must  be  some  sort  of  an  arrangement  between 
you,  for  one  is  riding  the  other's  horse.  Now 
perhaps  you  had  better  go.  I  will  put  wp  a 
bite  for  you  to  eat  during  the  night,  and  will 
try  to  get  a  breakfast  to  you  in  the  morning. 
I  shall  have  to  let  you  out  of  a  side  door,  for 


RODNEY   MAKES   A   TRADE.  245 

you  would  be  seen  if  you  went  out  of  this  well- 
lighted  room  ;  and  if  I  were  to  put  out  the 
lamp,  it  would  arouse  the  suspicions  of  any 
one  who  may  happen  to  be  on  the  watch." 

' '  This  reminds  me  of  the  days  I  have  read 
of,  when  the  women  fought  side  by  side  wdtli 
their  husbands  and  sons  in  the  block-houses," 
thought  Rodney,  as  he  shoved  his  revolver 
into  his  boot  leg  and  waited  for  the  lunch 
to  be  put  up.  "What  a  scout  she  would 
make." 

Mrs.  Merrick  probably  knew  that  the  boys 
w^ould  not  devote  much  time  to  sleeping  that 
night,  for  the  "  bite"  she  put  up  for  them  was 
equal  in  quantity  to  the  hearty  supper  they 
had  just  eaten.  She  was  aware,  too,  that  they 
would  have  to  '4ie  out,"  and  anxious  to  know 
if  they  had  any  blankets  to  keep  them  warm. 
It  might  not  be  quite  safe  for  them  to  build  a 
camp  fire,  and  consequently  they  would  need 
plenty  of  covering.  There  was  the  lunch,  and 
Tom  needn't  be  so  profuse  in  his  thanks,  for 
while  she  believed  in  fighting  the  Lincoln  gov- 
ernment, since  it  was  bound  to  force  a  war 
upon  the  South,  she  did  not  believe  in  starving 


246  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

Union  boys  on  account  of  their  principles. 
She  hoped  Tom  would  reach  home  in  safety, 
and  advised  him  when  he  got  there  to  turn 
over  a  new  leaf  and  go  with  his  State. 

"Do  you  remember  what  that  British  colo- 
nel said  to  his  commanding  officer,  after  he 
had  visited  General  Marion  in  his  camj)  and 
dined  with  him  on  sweet  potatoes  ?  "  inquired 
Rodney,  after  the  two  had  been  let  out  at  the 
side  door  and  were  stealing  along  the  fence 
toward  the  cow-stable  where  Mr.  Merrick  was 
patiently  w^aiting  for  them.  "The  colonel 
said,  '  You  can't  conquer  such  people  ; '  and 
he  was  so  impressed  with  the  fact  that  he 
threw  u])  his  commission  and  w^ent  home  to 
England.  That  is  what  I  say  to  you,  Tom 
Percival.  The  North  can't  conquer  the  South 
while  we  have  such  women  as  Mrs.  Merrick 
in  it.'' 

" Now  listen  at  you,"  replied  Tom.  "The 
North  doesn't  want  to  conquer  the  South,  and 
you  don't  show  your  usual  common  sense  in 
hinting  at  such  a  thing.  The  people — and 
when  I  say  that,  I  mean  the  Union  men  both 
North  and  South — say  that  you  secessionists 


RODNEY   MAKES   A  TRADE.  247 

shall  not  break  up  this  government ;  and  if 
you  persist  in  your  efforts,  you  are  going  to 
get  whipped,  as  you  ought  to  be.  Hallo,  Mr. 
Merrick,"  he  added,  stopping  in  the  door  of 
the  stable  and  trying  to  peer  through  the 
darkness.  "Did  you  hear  those  gentlemen 
asking  for  you  a  while  ago  ?  " 

*'Iwas  listening,"  replied  the  farmer,  with 
a  chuckle.  "But  I  disremembered  the  voice. 
The  feller  talked  as  though  he  was  holding  a 
handkercher  or  something  over  his  mouth. 
How  many  of  them  was  there  ?    I  seen  three." 

"We  didn't  see  any,  for  Mrs.  Merrick 
wouldn't  let  us  go  to  the  door,"  replied  Rod- 
ney. "She  was  the  coolest  one  in  the 
kitchen." 

"  She's  got  tol'able  grit,  ISTance  has,"  replied 
the  farmer,  and  there  was  just  a  tinge  of  pride 
in  his  tones  when  he  said  it.  "  I  may  happen 
over  t'other  side  the  ridge  some  night,  and 
then  the  tables  will  be  turned  t'other  way. 
]S'ow,  if  you  are  ready,  we'll  make  tracks  for 
the  swamp.  The  way  is  clear.  Thompson's 
men  have  give  it  up  as  a  bad  job  and  gone 
home." 


248  EODNEY,  THE  PAKTISAN. 


^'  Did  tliey  pass  along  the  road  1 "  exclaimed 
Kodney.     "We  never  heard  them." 

''I  did,  and  seen  'em  too.  There  was  a 
right  smart  passel  of  'em — more'n  enough  to 
have  made  pris'ners  of  all  the  Union  fellers  in 
the  swamp,  if  they  hadn't  been  afraid  to  face 
the  rifles  that  them  same  Union  men  know 
how  to  shoot  with  tol'able  sure  aim." 

''Why  is  it  necessary  for  them  to  hide 
ont?"  asked  Rodney.  ''What  have  they 
done?" 

"I  don't  rightly  know  as  I  can  tell  you," 
replied  the  farmer,  in  a  tone  which  led  the  boy 
to  believe  that  he  could  tell  all  about  it  if  he 
felt  so  disposed.  "But  it  seems  that  some 
high-up  Secesh  has  disappeared  and  nobody 
don't  know  what's  went  with  'em  ;  and  some 
folks  do  say  that  them  fellers  in  the  swamp 
had  a  hand  in  their  taking  off.  I  dunno,  kase 
I  wasn't  thar." 

So  saying,  Merrick  led  the  horse  from  the 
stable  and  the  boys  followed  without  saying  a 
word,  for  they  were  by  no  means  sure  that 
Thompson's  men  had  all  gone  away.  They 
went  through  a  wide  field  that  had  once  been 


RODNEY   MAKES   A  TRADE.  249 

planted  to  corn,  and  when  tliey  had  passed  a 
gap  in  the  fence  by  which  it  was  surrounded, 
they  found  themselves  in  the  edge  of  a  thick 
wood. 

"I  don't  see  how  you  ever  found  your  way 
through  here  alone,"  said  Rodney  to  his 
friend.     "  It  is  as  dark  as  pitch." 

"Oh,  I  wasn't  alone.  One  of  those  Union 
men  came  with  me  as  far  as  this  gap,  and  then 
I  came  on  well  enough,"  replied  Tom.  ''  It's 
a  wonder  those  horsemen  didn'  t  discover  me. 
I  threw  myself  flat  on  the  ground  between  the 
old  corn-rows,  and  saw  them  quite  distinctly. 
Mr.  Hobson  said  he  would  wait  here  for  me." 

"And  he  has  kept  his  word,  although  he 
began  to  think  you  were  never  coming  back," 
replied  a  voice  from  the  darkness.  "Is  this 
the  friend  who  helped  you  last  night  ?  I  can 
just  make  out  that  there  are  three  of  you." 

If  it  had  been  daylight  there  is  no  telling 
how  Rodney  Gray  would  have  passed  through 
the  ordeal  of  shaking  hands  with  a  Union  man 
who  was  suspected  of  being  concerned  in  the 
"  taking  off  "  of  some  prominent  secessionists 
in  his  settlement.     It  was  a  large,   muscular 


250  EODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

hand  that  grasped  his  own,  and  Rodney  knew 
that  there  was  a  big  man  behind  it.  He  knew, 
too,  that  Mr.  Hobson  (that  was  the  name  by 
which  the  stranger  was  introduced)  had  no 
reason  for  supposing  that  he  was  anything  but 
what  Tom  Percival  represented  him  to  be — a 
Union  boy  who  had  run  away  from  home  and 
come  up  North  because  his  relatives  were  all 
secessionists  and  opposed  to  his  Union  prin- 
ciples. That  was  about  the  story  Tom  Per- 
cival had  told  Merrick,  and  it  was  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  he  had  told  Mr.  Hobson  and 
his  fellow  fugitives  the  same.  Indeed  he 
became  sure  of  it  a  moment  later,  for  Mr.  Hob- 
son said,  while  he  continued  to  hold  fast  to 
Rodney's  hand  and  shake  it : 

^'So  it  seems  that  we  Missourians  are  not 
the  only  ones  who  have  to  stand  persecution 
because  we  believe  in  upholding  the  Stars  and 
Stripes.  I  have  heard  something  of  your  his- 
tory from  our  young  friend  Percival,  and 
assure  you  that  I  sympathize  with  you  deeply. 
I  want  to  compliment  you  on  the  courage  and 
skill  you  showed  in  helping  him  escape  from 
those  guerrillas  last  night." 


RODN^CY   MAKES   A   TRADE.  251 


a 


It  is  hardly  worth  speaking  of,"  answered 
Rodney,  as  soon  as  he  could  collect  his  wits. 
"  Tom'  would  have  done  the  same  for  me." 

"lam  sure  he  Avould,  but  it  was  none  the 
less  a  brave  act  on  your  part.  'Now  let  us  go 
to  camp.  If  I  don't  get  back  pretty  soon  my 
friends  will  wonder  what  has  become  of  me. 
By  the  way,  didn't  I  hear  a  body  of  men  rid- 
ing along  the  road  going  west,  a  short  time 
since?" 

Merrick  replied  that  they  were  some  of 
Thompson's  men,  who  probably  thought  it 
safer  to  keep  to  the  big  road  than  it  would  be 
to  attempt  to  cai:)ture  half  a  dozen  well-armed 
Union  men  in  a  dark  swamp.  Hobson  and  his 
party  were  not  likely  to  be  molested,  but  still 
Merrick  thought  it  would  be  best  for  them  to 
remain  concealed  a  while  longer,  and  depend 
upon  him  for  their  provisions  and  news.  Mer- 
rick did  not  forget  to  tell  of  the  three  men 
who  had  stopped  at  his  gate  and  asked  to  see 
him  "  on  business." 

"I  reckon  I  might  as  well  leave  you  boys 
here,"  he  added,  placing  the  bridle  in  Rod- 
ney's hand. 


252  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


J 


''  And  what  shall  Tom  and  I  do  in  the  morn- 
ing?'' inquired  the  latter.  "We  ought  to 
make  an  early  start,  and  do  you  think  it 
would  be  safe  for  us  to  kee j)  together  ? ' ' 

"Not  by  no  means  it  wouldn't,"  replied 
Merrick,  quickly.  "Unless  you  can  induce 
somebody  in  Mr.  Hobson's  party  to  give  you  a 
trade  for  that  roan  colt.  You  mustn't  try  to 
ride  him  to  Springfield.  You  ought  to  get  rid 
of  him  as  soon  as  you  can." 

"Let's  go  to  camp,"  repeated  Mr.  Hobson. 
"We  can  talk 'the  matter  over  after  we  get 
there.  And  in  the  meantime,  you  boys  had 
better  make  up  your  minds  to  stay  with  us 
until  after  Merrick  brings  us  a  breakfast. 
Perhaps  he  will  know  by  that  time  whether  or 
not  it  will  be  safe  for  you  to  continue  your 
journey." 

Going  to  camp  and  spending  the  night  with 
half  a  dozen  strangers  who  held  opinions  that 
were  so  very  different  from  his  own,  and  who 
might  "  catch  him  up  "  Avhen  he  wasn't  look- 
ing for  it,  was  what  Rodney  Gray  dreaded. 
He  didn'  t  like  the  idea  of  passing  himself  off 
for  a  Union  boy  when  he  wasn't,  and   was 


RODNEY   MAKES   A   TRADE.  253 

afraid  he  might  let  fall  some  expression  that 
would  betray  him.  That  would  be  most 
unfortunate,  for  it  would  get  Tom  Percival 
into  trouble  as  well  as  himself.  But  there  was 
no  help  for  it,  and  so  he  brought  up  the  rear 
leading  the  horse,  while  Mr.  Hobson  and  Tom 
led  the  way  along  a  bliad  path  toward  the 
camp.  Presently  the  former  began  whistling 
at  intervals,  and  when  at  length  an  answer 
came  from  the  depths  of  the  forest,  Rodney 
knew  that  the  camp  was  close  at  hand.  Ten 
minutes  later  he  had  been  introduced  to  Mr. 
Hobson' s  companions,  and  was  listening  in  a 
dazed  sort  of  way  to  their  words  of  greeting 
and  sympathy.  They  knew  just  how  he  felt, 
they  said,  for  they  had  been  obliged  to  leave 
home  themselves  on  account  of  their  opinions, 
and  an  indorsement  from  Tom  Percival,  with 
whose  uncle  Justus  they  were  well  acquainted, 
they  assured  him  would  bring  all  the  aid  and 
comfort  they  could  give  him. 

"  Tom  always  could  tell  a  slick  story — he 
was  noted  for  that  at  school,"  thought  Rod- 
ney, as  he  motioned  to  his  friend  to  set  out 
the  lunch  that  Mrs.  Merrick  had  put  up  for 


254  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

them.  ''  And  if  he  hasn't  shut  up  the  eyes  of 
these  Union  men  I  don't  want  a  cent.  If  I 
hear  this  story  many  more  times  I  shall  begin 
to  believe  I  am  Union  without  knowing  it,  and 
that  I  left  home  because  I  had  to." 

As  the  refugees  never  once  suspected  that 
Rodney  was  acting  a  part,  and  that  Tom  Per- 
cival  had  deliberately  deceived  them,  they 
asked  no  leading  questions,  and  the  visitor  was 
very  thankful  for  that.  Of  course  they  were 
anxious  to  know  how  matters  stood  in  Louisi- 
ana, and  Rodney  could  truthfully  say  that 
the  Union  men  were  so  very  careful  to  keep 
their  opinions  to  themselves  that  they  were 
known  only  to  their  most  trusted  friends.  He 
had  heard  that  there  were  a  good  many  of 
them  in  and  around  Mooreville,  but  had  never 
had  the  luck  to  meet  any.  If  a  man  in  his 
X)art  of  the  State  had  dared  to  hint  that  he  Avas 
opposed  to  secession,  he  would  have  stood  a 
fine  chance  of  being  mobbed.  Rodney  was 
glad  when  the  lunch  had  been  eaten,  the  last 
pipe  smoked  and  the  refugees  stretched  them- 
selves on  their  beds  of  boughs  with  their  sad- 
dles for  pillows,  and  drew  their  blankets  over 


RODNEY   MAKES   A   TRADE.  255 

them.  Then  he  was  at  liberty  to  think  over 
the  situation  but  denied  the  privilege  of  talk- 
ing to  Tom ;  and  that  was  what  he  most 
desired.  While  he  was  wondering  what  his 
next  adventure  was  going  to  be  he  fell  asleep. 

"That's  Merrick's  signal,"  were  the  next 
words  he  heard. 

It  didn't  seem  to  Rodney  that  he  had  been 
asleep  five  minutes,  but  when  he  opened  his 
eyes  he  found  that  it  was  just  getting  day- 
light, and  that  all  the  refugees  were  sitting  up 
on  their  blankets  stretching  their  arms  and 
yawning  ;  while,  faint  and  far  off  but  quite 
distinct,  he  heard  a  familiar  voice  shouting  : 

"  Pig-gee  !     Pig-gii !     Pig-goo  !  " 

"That's  breakfast,"  said  Mr.  Hobson. 
"Now,  while  we  are  waiting  for  ifc,  I  suggest 
that  we  take  a  look  at  that  roan  colt  and  make 
up  our  minds  what  we  are  going  to  do  with 
him." 

"That's  business,"  said  Rodney.  "I  don't 
like  to  let  him  go,  for  he  was  the  last  thing 
my  father  gave  me." 

"  Then  your  father  must  be  for  the  Union," 
remarked  one  of  the  refugees. 


256  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

'*He  thinks  just  as  I  do,"  answered  Rod- 
ney; and  then  he  recollected  that  he  had 
never  expressed  an  opinion.  He  had  not  been 
asked,  for  Tom  Percival  had  done  it  for  him. 
He  followed  the  men  to  the  place  where  the 
horses  had  been  x)icketed,  and  listened  while 
they  talked  and  tried  to  make  up  their  minds 
whether  it  would  be  prudent  to  give  him  a 
trade.  There  Avas  not  the  slightest  difference 
of  opinion  regarding  the  good  qualities  of  the 
roan  colt,  for  they  could  be  seen  at  a  glance ; 
but  here  was  where  the  trouble  came  in  :  They 
hoped  to  return  to  their  homes  at  no  distant 
day,  and  what  woukl  their  neighbors  say  to 
them  when  a  horse  that  was  said  to  have 
been  stolen  was  seen  in  their  x)ossession  ?  It 
was  Mr.  WestalFs  argument  over  again. 

"  I  would  just  as  soon  take  Percival' s  horse 
to  the  settlement  as  to  go  back  there  with  this 
roan,"  said  Mr.  Hobson.  "One  is  as  danger- 
ous to  us  as  the  other.  You  see,  everybody. 
Union  as  well  as  Secesh,  is  down  on  a  horse- 
thief,  and  the  politics  of  the  man  who  is 
caught  with  this  horse  in  his  keeping  will  not 
save  him.     After  all  I  don't  know  that  I  can 


RODNEY   MAKES   A   TRADE.  257 

be  in  a  much  worse  mess  than  I  am  now,  and 
if  you  like,  I  will  give  you  my  horse  for  him. 
It's  a  one-sided  trade  I  admit,  the  roan  is 
worth  two  of  mine,  but  see  the  risk  I  shall 
run?" 

"Til  do  it,"  said  Rodney  quickly.  ^'I 
shall  be  glad  to  see  the  last  of  that  colt,  and 
hope  he  will  not  be  the  means  of  getting  you 
into  difficulty.  JSTow  do  you  think  Tom  and  I 
can  ride  together  ? ' ' 

^'I  don't  see  why  you  can't,  and  I  think  it 
would  be  a  good  thing  for  you,  because  Perci- 
val  has  a  general  knowledge  of  the  roads 
ahead,  and  knows  a  few  people  who  can  be 
trusted." 

This  matter  having  been  settled  to  the  satis- 
faction of  both  the  boys,  one  of  the  refugees 
set  up  a  peculiar  whistle  to  let  Merrick  know 
that  the  road  to  their  camp  was  clear,  and 
twenty  minutes  later  he  came  into  sight,  fol- 
lowed by  a  darkey.  The  latter  was  mounted 
on  a  mule  and  carried  a  heavy  basket  on  each 
arm.  The  first  question  that  was  asked, 
''  Have  you  seen  or  heard  anything  more  of 
Thompson's  men  ? "  was  answered  in  the  nega- 


258  EODNEY,  THE  PAKTISAI^. 

live  on  both  sides,  and  then  the  refugees  and 
their  guests  were  ready  for  breakfast.  Mer- 
rick seemed  relieved  to  know  that  the  boys 
had  succeeded  in  getting  the  roan  colt  off 
their  hands,  and  told  them  that  he  had 
brought  the  darkey  along  to  act  as  their  guide 
until  they  were  beyond  the  limits  of  his  settle- 
ment. 

'^  After  you  w^ent  away  last  night,  IN'ance 
said  that  there  are  some  folks  about  here  who 
know  I  am  harboring  two  chaps  that  I  have 
took  some  i^ains  to  keep  out  of  sight,  and  so  I 
thought  you  had  best  keep  to  the  bresh  till 
you  had  got  past  them  peoples'  houses,"  said 
he  ;  but  there  was  one  thing  his  wife  did  not 
tell  him,  and  that  was  that  one  of  the  two  boys 
he  was  harboring  was  as  good  a  Confederate 
as  any  of  the  men  wdio  had  ridden  along  the 
road.     That  was  a  matter  she  kept  to  herself. 

Breakfast  being  over  the  only  thing  there 
was  to  detain  the  boys  w^as  to  saddle  their 
horses.  That  did  not  take  many  minutes, 
and  then  they  were  ready  for  the  new  dangers 
that  lay  along  the  road  ahead  of  them.  After 
thanking  Mr.    Merrick  for  his  kindness,   not 


RODNEY   MAKES   A   TRADE.  259 

forgetting  to  send  their  best  regards  to  his 
wife,  they  shook  hands  with  the  refugees  and 
told  their  sable  guide  to  go  on. 

"  I  never  saw  things  quite  so  badly  mixed 
up  as  they  are  in  this  country,"  said  Rodney, 
when  the  camp  and  its  occupants  had  been  left 
out  of  sight.  "And  neither  did  I  dream  that 
you  were  such  an  expert  story-teller.  Sup- 
pose I  had  said  or  done  something  to  arouse 
the  susiDicions  of  the  men  w^e  have  just  left ; 
Avhere  would  we  be  now  ?  " 

''What  else  could  I  do?"  demanded  Tom. 
"You  didn't  expect  me  to  say  out  loud  that 
you  are  a  Confederate  on  your  way  to  join  a 
man  who  is  getting  ready  to  fight  against  the 
government  of  the  United  States.  You  knew 
I  wouldn't  do  that,  and  so  I  had  to  put 
you  in  a  false  position.  It  isn't  my  fault. 
You  ought  to  have  had  sense  enough  to  stay 
at  home." 

"  I  can  see  it  now,"  rei^lied  Hodney.  "But 
what  are  we  to  do  from  this  time  on  ? " 

"  I  am  sure  I  don't  know.  We'll  be  Union 
all  over  for  the  next  twenty  miles  or  so,  and 
then  perhaps  you   can  show  yourself  in  your 


260  EODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

true  colors  while  I  do  the  deceiving  ;  but  you 
must  be  careful  and  not  speak  my  name.  I 
declare  I  had  no  idea  that  the  Percivals  were 
so  well  known  through  this  neck  of  the 
woods.  But  I'll  tell  you  what  I  honestly 
believe  :  Price's  cavalry  is  scouting  all 
through  the  central  and  southern  parts  of  the 
State,  shooting  Union  men  and  picking  up 
recruits,  and  as  soon  as  we  begin  to  hear  of 
them,  I  think  you  had  better  desert  me  and 
join  them  ;  that  is,  unless  you  have  come  to 
your  senses,  and  made  m^  your  mind  that  you 
had  better  cast  your  lot  with  the  loyal  people 
of  the  nation." 

"  Don't  you  know  any  better  than  to  talk  to 
me  in  that  style  T'  exclaimed  Kodney.  "Do 
you  imagine  that  T  have  come  up  here  just  to 
have  the  fun  of  going  back  on  my  prin- 
ciples ? ' ' 

"No  ;  I  don't  suppose  you  have,  but  I  think 
you  ought  to  before  it  is  too  late.  However, 
let  politics  go.  Have  you  heard  from  any  of 
the  Barrington  boys  since  we  left  school  ? 
Where  is  your  cousin  Marcy  ? ' ' 

This  was  a  more  agreeable  tox)ic  than  tlie 


RODNEY   MAKES   A   TPwADE.  261 

one  tliey  had  been  discussing,  but  Kodney 
had  little  information  to  impart.  He  had 
written  to  Marcy  but  had  received  no  reply, 
and  the  reader  knows  the  reason  why.  It  was 
because  Marcy  dare  not  write  and  tell  Rodney 
how  matters  stood  with  him,  for  fear  that  the 
letter  might  be  stopped  by  some  of  his  Seces- 
sion neighbors, — Captain  Beardsley,  for  in- 
stance,— who  would  use  it  against  him.  He 
told  of  the  letters  he  had  received  from 
Dixon,  Billings  and  Dick  Graham,  and  they 
were  all  in  the  army,  or  going  as  soon  as  they 
could  get  there.  He  hadn't  heard  from  any 
other  Barrington  fellow,  but  he  believed  that 
Tom  Percival  was  the  one  black  sheep  in  the 
flock — that  the  others  had  gone  with  their 
States. 

"I  don't  believe  it,"  said  Tom,  with  decided 
emphasis.  ''lam  not  the  only  Union  fellow 
there  was  in  the  academy,  by  a  long  shot,  and 
I  know  that  those  who  opposed  secession  didn't 
do  it  to  hear  themselves  talk.  Your  cousin 
Marcy  didn't  go  with  his  State,  and  there 
are  others  like  him  scattered  all  over  the 
country." 


262  KODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

"Say,"  exclaimed  Rodney,  bending  for- 
ward in  his  saddle  and  sx^eaking  just  loud 
enough  for  Tom,  who  was  riding  in  advance, 
to  catch  his  words.  "Do  you  believe  Mer- 
rick's darkey  can  be  dejDended  on  ?  " 

"Of  course,"  answered  Tom.  "Why  not? 
What  makes  you  ask  the  question  ?" 

' '  I  don' t  like  the  way  he  has  of  looking 
over  his  shoulder  and  listening  to  our  conver- 
sation. You  are  all  right,  of  course,  but  I  am 
afraid  I  have  said  too  much.  I  was  so  glad  to 
get  a  chance  to  talk  to  you  that  I  never 
thought  of  him." 

"Didn't  you  once  assure  your  cousin  Marcy 
that  all  the  blacks  in  the  South  would  go  with 
their  masters  against  the  abolitionists?"  in- 
quired Tom. 

"Yes,  I  believe  I  did,  and  I  think  so  yet. 
I  don't  think  we  have  a  darkey  on  our  place 
who  would  accept  his  freedom  to-day  if  it 
were  offered  to  him." 

"  There  may  not  be  one  who  would  dare  say 
so,  because  they  know  better  ;  but  give  the 
best  of  them  the  chance  and  see  how  quickly 
he  would  skip  over  the  border  into  abolition 


EODNEY   MAKES  A  TRADE.  263 

territory.  If  you  think  the  darkies  are  loyal 
to  their  masters,  what  are  you  afraid  of? 
According  to  your  idea,  if  that  darkey  ahead 
betrays  anybody,  he  ought  to  betray  me,  for 
I  am  Union  and  he  heard  me  tell  his  master 
so  yesterday.  But  if  you  think  he  can't  be 
trusted  to  keep  his  mouth  shut,  we'll  turn  him 
to  the  right-about  in  short  order." 

"And  lose  the  benefit  of  his  knowledge?" 
said  Kodney.  "I  wouldn't  do  that.  Let  him 
stay  as  long  as  Merrick  told  him  to,  and  in 
the  mean  time  I  will  talk  as  though  I  knew  he 
w^ould  repeat  every  word  I  say." 

This  thing  of  being  obliged  to  place  a  curb 
upon  their  tongues  when  they  wanted  to 
speak  freely  was  annoying  in  the  extreme ; 
but  it  might  have  saved  them  some  trouble 
and  anxiety  if  they  had  done  it  from  the  first. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

TWICE     SUEPRISED. 

DURING  the  whole  of  their  journey 
through  the  woods,  which  did  not  come 
to  an  end  until  long  after  four  o'clock  that 
afternoon,  the  negro  guide  never  once  spoke 
to  the  boys  unless  he  was  first  spoken  to,  nor 
did  they  see  any  living  thing  except  a  drove 
of  half- wild  hogs,  which  fled  precipitately  at 
their  approach.  The  plantation  darkies,  as  a 
general  thing,  were  talkative  and  full  of  life, 
and  this  unwonted  silence  on  the  part  of  their 
conductor  finally  produced  an  effect  upon  Tom 
Percival  who,  when  the  noon  halt  was  called, 
took  occasion  to  give  the  man  a  good  looking 
over.  He  was  not  very  well  satisfied  with  the 
result  of  his  examination. 

"How  much  farther  do  you  go  with  us, 
boy?"  said  he. 

"Notfurder'n  Mr.  Truman's  house,  an'  dat 
aint  above  ten  mile  from  hyar,"  was  the 
answer. 

264 


TWICE   SURPRISED.  265 

*'  Truman,"  repeated  Tom.  '*  He's  all  right. 
I  was  told  to  stop  on  the  way  and  call  upon 
him  for  anything  I  might  need.  Hurry  up 
and  take  us  there  ;  and  when  you  do,"  he 
added  in  a  whisper,  to  Rodney,  "we'll  say 
good-by  to  you.  You  were  right ;  he's 
treacherous.  He's  a  red-eyed  nigger,  and 
when  you  see  a  nigger  of  that  sort  you  want 
to  look  out  for  him." 

There  was  no  need  that  they  should  "look 
out"  for  their  guide  :jiow,  because  there  was 
no  way  in  which  he  could  betray  them 
secretly.  The  danger  would  arise  when  they 
stopped  for  the  night  or  after  they  parted 
from  him  the  next  morning.  Then  he  would 
be  at  liberty  to  go  where  he  pleased,  and  as  he 
was  acquainted  with  every  TTnion  man  for 
miles  around,  it  would  not  take  him  long  to 
spread  among  them  the  report  that  there  was 
a  Confederate  stopping  at  Mr.  Truman's  house 
in  company  with  a  young  Missourian  who  did 
not  want  his  name  spoken  where  other  folks 
could  hear  it.  If  such  a  story  as  that  should 
get  wind,  it  would  make  trouble  all  around — 
for  Mr.  Truman  as  well  as  for  themselves ;  for 


266  EODI^EY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


y 


Truman's  neighbors  would  want  to  know  why 
he  gave  food  and  lodging  to  a  Confederate 
when  he  claimed  to  be  a  Union  man  himself. 
The  longer  Rodney  thought  of  these  things, 
the  more  he  wished  himself  safe  back  in 
Louisiana. 

At  half-jDast  four  by  Tom  Percival's  watch 
the  negro  stopx^ed  his  mule  beside  a  rail  fence 
running  between  the  woods  and  an  old  field, 
on  whose  farther  side  was  a  snug  plantation 
house,  nestled  among  the  trees.  That  was 
where  Mr.  Truman  lived,  and  where  Merrick 
had  told  them  to  stop  for  the  night. 

"And  I  suppose  you  will  stay  also,  wont 
you  1 "  said  Tom,  speaking  to  the  darkey  who 
bent  down  from  his  mule  and  threw  a  few  of 
the  toi3  rails  off  the  fence  so  that  the  boys 
could  jump  their  horses  over  into  the  field. 

"Who?  Me?  Oh  no,  sar,"  answered  the 
guide,  with  rather  more  earnestness  than  the 
occasion  seemed  to  demand.  "  Marse  Merrick 
done  tol'  me  to  be  sure  an'  come  home  dis 
very  night,  an'  I  'bleeged  to  mind  him,  sar." 

"I'll  bet  you  don't  mind  him,"  thought 
Tom,  as  he  and  Rodney  rode  into  the  field  and 


TWICE   SURPEISED.  267 

waited  for  the  negro  to  build  up  fhe  fence 
again.  ''There's  a  bug  under  that  chip  and  I 
know  it." 

The  appearance  of  three  horsemen  riding 
up  to  the  back  door  in  this  unex^Dected  way 
created  something  of  a  flutter  among  the 
female  portion  of  Mr.  Truman's  family,  and 
even  the  farmer  himself,  who  presently  came 
to  the  door  of  one  of  the  outbuildings,  seemed 
to  be  a  little  startled  ;  but  when  a  second  look 
showed  him  that  one  of  Mr.  Merrick's  negroes 
was  of  the  number,  he  came  up  to  the  pump 
near  which  the  boys  had  dismounted. 

"  This  is  Mr.  Truman,  I  believe,"  said  Tom. 

"Well,  yes;  that's  my  name,  but  I  don't 
reckon  I  ever  saw  you  before,"  replied  the 
man  cautiously. 

*'Do  you  know  this  boy  who  has  been  act- 
ing as  our  guide  ?  " 

''Oh,  yes.  I  know  all  of  Merrick's  boys,  so 
it  must  be  all  right.  But  you  see  in  times  like 
these — ' ' 

"I  understand,"  Tom  interposed,  for  Mr. 
Truman  talked  so  slowly  that  the  boy  was 
afraid  he  might  never  get  through  with  what 


268  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


he  had  to  say.  "In  times  like  these  you 
don't  know  whom  to  trust.  That's  our  fix, 
exactly ;  and  w^e  shouldn'  t  have  thought  of 
stopping  here  if  Merrick  and  Hobson  had  not 
told  us  who  and  what  you  are.  Go  on,  boy, 
and  tell  Mr.  Truman  who  and  what  we  are, 
where  we  came  from,  where  we  want  to  go, 
and  all  about  it." 

The  negro  was  talkative  enough  now,  and 
the  boys  had  no  fault  to  find  with  the  way  in 
which  he  com^Dlied  with  Tom's  request  except 
in  one  particular — he  had  too  much  to  say 
regarding  Eodney  Gray's  loyalty  to  the 
Union,  and  his  undying  hostility  toward  every- 
body who  was  in  favor  of  secession.  He  dwelt 
so  long  upon  this  subject  that  Tom  Percival, 
fearing  Mr.  Truman's  eyes  would  be  opened  to 
the  real  facts  of  the  case,  thought  it  best  to 
interrupt  him. 

"Yes;  we  passed  the  night  in  company 
Avith  Mr.  Hobson  and  five  of  his  friends  who 
have  been  compelled  to  go  into  hiding," 
said  he,  ' '  and  while  we  were  eating  supper  in 
Mr.   Merrick's  kitchen,   some  of  Thompson's 


men  came  to  the  gate  and  asked  for  him. 


5? 


TWICE  SURPRISED.  269 

*'  I  reckon  it's  all  right,"  said  Mr.  Truman, 
who  did  not  believe  that  his  friend  Merrick 
would  have  taken  these  two  young  fellows 
into  his  house  if  he  had  not  had  the  best  of 
reasons  for  thinking  that  they  could  be 
trusted.  "What  did  you  say  your  names 
might  be  ?  "  he  added,  beckoning  to  one  of  his 
darkies  and  indicating  by  a  wave  of  his  hand 
that  the  horses  were  to  be  housed  and  fed. 

While  the  guide  was  telling  his  story  he  had 
not  mentioned  any  names.  He  had  simply  re- 
ferred to  the  boys  as  ''dese  yer  gentlemen," 
designating  the  one  of  whom  he  hapi^ened  to 
be  speaking  by  a  nod  or  a  jerk  of  his  thumb. 
Tom  waited  until  the  horses  were  led  away 
and  then  said,  in  a  low  tone  : 

''My  friend's  name  is  Gray,  and  as  you 
have  already  heard  he  is  from  Louisiana.  The 
Secesh  were  too  thick  there  to  suit  him  and  so 
he  came  up  here,  hoping  to  find  everybody 
Union." 

"Humph  !  "  said  Mr.  Truman. 

"He  has  found  out  his  mistake,"  continued 
Tom.  "Ever  since  he  has  been  in  the  State 
he  has  been  dodging  rebels,  and  has  traveled 


270  KODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

more  miles  in  the  woods  than  he  has  on  the 
highway.     Do  you  know  Justus  Percival  ?  " 
Do  you  ? "  asked  Truman  in  reply. 
I  ought  to.     He's  my  uncle,  and  Percival 
is  my  name  ;  but  I  wish  you  wouldn't  address 
me  by  it  unless  you  know  who  is  listening." 

"But  when  you  left  Cedar  Bluff  landing 
you  were  riding  a  roan  colt  and  had  no  boots 
on,"  said  Mr.  Truman,  first  looking  all  around 
to  make  sure  that  there  was  no  one  near  to 
catch  his  Avords.  "I  was  sorter  on  the  watch 
for  such  a  fellow,  for  I  thought  maybe  he'd 
need  help." 

"  Great  Scott !  "  said  Rodney,  who  was  very 
much  surprised.  "Has  that  man  Swanson 
been  through  here  ?  It  can't  be  possible.  His 
crowbait  of  a  mule  couldn't  carry  him  so  far." 

' '  I  don' t  know  anybody  of  that  name,  but  I 
know  about  the  roan  colt  that  wasn't  stolen 
from  Pilot  Knob,"  replied  the  farmer.  "Let's 
go  in  and  see  if  the  women  folks  can't  scare 
up  a  bite  to  eat."    . 

"One  moment,  please,"  Tom  interposed. 
"Do  you  know  anything  about  Merrick's 
boy  ?     Is  he  Union  or  Secesli  ?  " 


o 


TWICE   SURPRISED.  271 

"Union  and  nothing  else.  The  niggers  all 
are,  but  of  course  they  are  afraid  to  say  so." 

''That  boy  has  got  red  eyes,"  said  Tom. 
''  And  yon  know  as  well  as  I  can  tell  you  that 
a  darkey  of  that  sort  is  always  treacherous. 
We  don't  like  the  way  he  has  been  listening 
to  our  talk  ever  since  we  left  Hobson's  camp. 
Couldn't  you  make  some  excuse  to  keep  him 
here  till  morning  ?  " 

"Job!"  yelled  the  farmer;  and  when  he 
had  succeeded  in  calling  the  attention  of  the 
darkey  who  was  attending  to  the  horses,  he 
went  on  to  say  :  "  Tell  Merrick's  boy  that  he 
mustn't  go  off  the  place  to-night.  The  patrols 
are  picking  up  everybody  who  shows  his  nose 
on  the  road  after  dark,  white  as  well  as  black, 
and  Price's  men  burned  two  houses  last  night 
not  more'n  five  miles  from  here." 

"Is  that  a  fact?"  inquired  Tom,  who  for 
the  first  time  since  Rodney  met  him  began  to 
show  signs  of  uneasiness. 

"It's  the  gospel  truth,  m ore's  the  pity,  and 
we  in  this  settlement  don't  know  how  soon  we 
may  be  called  upon  to  defend  our  lives  and 
property.     There  are  not  many  of  us  and  we 


272  KODXEY,  THE   PAETISATT. 

are  not  organized;   but  we're  tolerable  active 
and  know  how  to  shoot.     Now  let's  go  in." 

As  Rodney  Gray  afterward  remarked,  Mrs. 
Truman  '^  seemed  to  know  without  any  telling 
just  how  the  thing  stood,"  for  the  welcome 
she  gave  them  was  very  cordial  and  friendly. 

"  We  can  give  you  plenty  to  eat,"  she  said, 
extending  a  hand  to  each,  ''  but  I  am  not  sure 
that  you  would  be  safe  in  accepting  lodging  if 
we  were  to  offer  it  to  you.  Mr.  Truman  has 
no  doubt  told  you  that  Price's  men  were  quite 
close  to  us  last  night.  We  saw  the  fires  they 
lighted  shining  upon  the  clouds,  and  wondered 
how  long  it  would  be  before  some  of  our  friends 
would  stand  and  watch  our  burning  houses." 

Mrs.  Truman  continued  to  talk  in  this  strain 
while  the  supper  w^as  being  made  ready,  and 
Tom  Percival  now  and  then  glanced  at  his 
companion  as  if  to  ask  him  if  he  tliought  Mr. 
Merrick's  Secession  wife  was  the  only  brave 
woman  there  was  in  Missouri.  The  calmness 
with  which  she  spoke  of  the  troublous  times 
she  saw  coming  upon  the  people  of  the  nation, 
was  in  direct  contrast  to  the  behavior  of  her 
excitable  husband,  who  more  than  once  flew 


TWICE   SURPRISED.  273 

into  a  rage  and  paced  up  and  down  the  floor 
shaking  his  fists  in  the  air.  Rodney  had 
often  seen  Confederates  lash  themselves  into  a 
fury  while  denouncing  the '' Northern  mud- 
sills," but  he  had  never  before  seen  a  Union 
man  act  so  while  proclaiming  against  the 
demagogues  who  were  bent  on  destroying  the 
government.  It  showed  that  one  could  be  as 
savage  and  vindictive  as  the  other,  and  gave 
him  a  deeper  insight  into  the  nature  of  the 
coming  struggle  than  he  had  ever  had  before. 
Good  Confederate  that  he  was,  he  began  ask- 
ing himself  if  it  wouldn't  be  money  in  the 
pockets  of  the  Southern  people  if  they  would 
rise  in  a  body  and  hang  Jefferson  Davis  and 
his  advisers  before  they  had  time  to  do  any 
more  mischief.  In  the  days  that  followed, 
Rodney  Gray  was  not  the  only  one  who 
wished  it  had  been  done. 

When  darkness  came  on  there  were  no 
lamps  lighted  to  point  out  the  position  of  the 
house  to  any  roving  band  of  marauders  who 
might  happen  to  be  in  the  vicinity.  The  front 
door  was  thrown  open,  and  Mrs.  Truman  sat 
just  inside  the  room  to  which  it  gave  entrance, 


274  RODNET,  THE  PARTISAN. 


SO  that  she  could  see  the  road  in  both  direc- 
tions. She  explained  to  the  boys  that  there 
had  once  been  shade  trees  in  the  yard  and 
flowering  shrubs  growing  along  the  fence,  but 
they  had  been  cut  away  for  fear  that  they 
would  afford  concealment  to  some  sneaking 
Secesli  Avho  might  take  it  into  his  head  to  creep 
up  and  shoot  through  the  window.  Mr.  Tru- 
man had  gone  out  to  see  that  everything  was 
right  about  the  place,  and  to  shut  up  the  boys' 
horses,  which  had  been  turned  loose  in  the 
stable-yard.  He  wanted  the  animals  where 
they  could  be  easily  caught  when  needed,  for 
he  did  not  think  it  prudent  for  Tom  and  his 
companion  to  remain  under  his  roof  during 
the  night.  They  would  have  a  better  chance 
to  take  care  of  themselves  if  they  were  camped 
in  the  woods.  This  was  the  way  he  exj^lained 
the  situation  when  he  came  back  to  the  house, 
and  then  he  went  on  to  say  : 

''  There's  something  in  the  wind,  and  I  wish 
I  knew  what  it  is.  I  don't  like  the  way  Mer- 
rick's boy  has  acted.  I  told  him  positively 
not  to  leave  the  place  before  morning,  and  now 
he's  gone,  mule  and  all." 


TWICE   SUEPRISED.  275 

"  By  gracious  ! "  tlioiight  Rodney.  "That 
means  harm  to  me.  I  was  afraid  I  said  too 
much  in  his  hearing,  and  when  I  found  that  he 
had  red  eyes  I  was  sure  of  it.  He  is  going  to 
put  some  Union  men  on  my  trail  before  day- 
light, and  I  must  get  out  of  here.  He  knew 
that  if  he  sjDoke  to  Truman  he  would  have  to 
face  me,  and  that  was  something  he  was  afraid 
to  do." 

''How  long  has  he  been  gone?"  inquired 
Tom,  who  Avas  as  impatient  to  leave  the  house 
and  take  to  the  woods  as  Rodney  was. 

Mr.  Truman  couldn'  t  say  as  to  that ;  prob- 
ably two  hours  at  least.  That  was  long  enough 
for  him  to  tell  a  good  many  Union  men  that 
there  was  a  Confederate  in  Truman's  house, 
and  the  boys  began  to  be  really  alarmed. 

"This  shows  that  there  is  no  dependence 
whatever  to  be  placed  upon  the  darkies," 
declared  Tom.  ' '  They  are  divided  in  senti- 
ment the  same  as  the  whites.  Some  side  with 
their  masters  and  some  don't.  Of  course  I  am 
not  sure  that  this  boy's  absence  means  any- 
thing, but  still  I  think  we  had  better  get  out 
while  we  can." 


276  EODNEY,  THE  PAETISAF. 

But  they  had  already  delayed  their  depart- 
ure too  long,  as  they  discovered  a  moment 
later.  When  Tom  ceased  speaking  he  got 
upon  his  feet,  and  just  then  there  was  a  slight 
commotion  outside  the  house,  and  Mrs.  Tru- 
man uttered  an  ejaculation  of  surjDrise  and 
alarm  as  a  couple  of  dark  figures  bounded  up 
the  steps  and  stood  upon  the  gallery.  At  the 
same  instant  a  back  door  opened  and  heavy 
boots  pounded  the  kitchen  floor.  The  house 
had  been  quietly  surrounded,  but  by  whom? 
It  was  too  dark  to  see. 

''Don't  be  frightened,  Mrs.  Truman,"  said 
one  of  the  men  at  the  door.  "  You  know  us, 
and  you  know  that  we  wouldn't  harm  you. 
We  want  a  word  or  two  with  those  young  fel- 
lows who  have  come  here  trying  to  impose 
upon  you  and  all  of  us." 

"Then  why  couldn't  you  come  to  the  door 
and  say  so  like  a  man,  instead  of  sneaking  up 
like  a  cowardly  Secession  bushwhacker?" 
demanded  Mr.  Truman,  angrily.  "  Get  out  of 
the  house  and  come  in  in  the  proper  way." 

"Softly,  softly,"  said  one  of  the  three 
men  who  had  entered  by  the  kitchen  door. 


TWICE  SURPRISED.  277 

*' Harsh  words  butter  no  parsnips,  and  in  times 
like  these  one  can't  stand  upon  too  much  cere- 
mony. We  don't  mean  to  intrude,  but  we  do 
mean  to  get  hold  of  that  Secesh  and  the  other 
chap,  who  for  some  reason  of  his  own,  is  be- 
friending him.     Strike  a  light,  please." 

**  You  have  certainly  made  a  mistake,"  said 
Mrs.  Truman,  going  across  the  room  to  a  table 
to  find  a  match.  *'Our  guests  are  both 
Union." 

"Then  there's  no  harm  done,"  replied  the 
man  at  the  door.  ''We  understand  that  one 
of  them  claims  to  be  some  relation  to  old 
Justus  Percival.  If  he  is,  he  can't  have  any 
objections  to  riding  over  to  Pilot  Knob  with 
some  of  us  and  proving  his  claim." 

The  boys  trembled  when  they  heard  these 
ominous  Avorks.  A  ride  to  Pilot  Knob  meant 
death  to  Tom  Percival  at  any  rate,  and  per- 
haps to  his  friend  Rodney  also.  This  was 
the  darkest  prospect  yet,  and  it  looked  still 
darker  when  the  lamp  had.  been  lighted,  and 
its  rays  fell  upon  the  set,  determined  faces  of 
the  armed  men  who,  with  heavy  shot-guns, 
covered  all  the  avenues  of  escape.     Rodney 


278  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


thought  they  must  be  men  Avho  had  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  their  secession  neighbors,  for 
they  looked  as  savage  as  Mr.  Truman  had 
acted  a  while  before. 

"Which  is  the  traitor?"  demanded  the 
largest  man  in  the  party,  who  seemed  to  be 
the  leader. 

"Neither  one,"  replied  Tom,  settling  back 
in  the  chair  from  which  he  had  arisen  when 
the  men  first  ajDpeared. 

"  Which  one  is  Union  then,  if  that  suits  you 
better  ? "  was  the  next  question. 

"I  say  we  both  are,"  answered  Tom.  "I 
am  Captain  Percival,  and  I  am  now  on  my 
way  home  after  having  offered  the  services  of 
myself  and  company  to  General  Lyon.  Justus 
Percival,  of  whom  you  sjDoke  a  moment  since, 
is  my  uncle." 

"  And  who  is  this  friend  of  yours  ?  " 

"He  is  a  schoolmate  who  left  his  own  State 
because  things  didn't  go  to  suit  him,  and  who 
intends  to  enlist  the  first  chance  he  gets." 

"On  which  side?"  inquired  the  leader, 
squinting  up  both  his  eyes  and  nodding  at 
Tom  as  if  to  say  that  he  had  him  there. 


TWICE   SURPRISED.  279 

''Do  you  imagine  that  he  would  make  a 
journey  of  almost  a  thousand  miles  for  the 
sake  of  enlisting  in  the  Confederate  army 
when  he  might  have  done  that  at  home?" 
asked  Tom,  in  reply.     "  You  must  be  crazy." 

"Not  so  crazy  as  you  may  think,"  said  the 
leader,  who  seemed  to  be  sure  of  his  ground. 
' '  We  have  the  best  of  evidence  that  he  is 
secesh." 

"  What  sort  of  evidence  ? " 

"His  own  word." 

"Is  the  man  who  heard  me  say  that  out- 
side 1 ' '  asked  Rodney,  who  thought  by  the 
way  Mr.  Truman  and  his  wife  looked  at  him 
that  it  was  high  time  he  was  saying  something 
for  himself.  ' '  If  he  is,  bring  him  in  and  let 
me  face  him.  You  have  no  right  to  condemn 
me  until  you  let  me  see  who  my  accuser  is." 

"That's  the  idea,"  said  Tom.  "Fetch 
him  in." 

The  boys  played  their  parts  so  well,  in  spite 
of  the  alarm  they  felt  and  the  danger  they 
knew  they  were  in,  and  looked  so  honest  and 
truthful  that  the  leader  was  nonplussed,  and 
Mr.  Truman  and  his  wife  were  firmly  convinced 


280  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

that  tlieir  visitors  had  made  a  mistake.  There 
were  reasons  why  the  latter  could  not  produce 
E-odney's  accuser,  and  for  a  minute  or  two 
some  of  them  acted  as  though  they  might  be 
willing  to  let  the  matter  drop  right  where  it 
was.  But  there  is  always  some  "smart  man" 
in  every  party  who  thinks  he  knows  a  little  moro> 
than  anybody  else,  and  it  was  so  in  this  case  ; 
and  when  he  spoke,  he  "  put  his  foot  in  it." 

"  Didn't  yon  say  to-day  in  the  presence  of^ 
of—" 

''Merrick's  red-eyed  nigger,"  Tom  ex- 
claimed, when  the  man  paused  and  looked 
about  as  if  afraid  that  he  might  have  said 
more  than  he  ought.  ''  Why  don't  you  speak 
it  right  out  ?  What  did  I  tell  you,  Mr.  Tru- 
man ?  Didn't  I  say  that  boy  would  bear 
watching  ?  Now,  what  I  want  to  know  of  you 
is,  are  you  going  to  take  that  darkey's  word 
in  preference  to  mine  ? ' ' 

This  was  bringing  the  matter  right  home  to 
the  visitors,  every  one  of  whom  was  a  slave- 
holder, and  would  have  taken  it  as  an  insult  if 
any  one  had  so  much  as  hinted  that  their  evi- 
dence was  not  as  good  as  a  black  man's. 


TWICE  SURPRISED.  281 

"Don't  get  huffy,"  said  the  smart  man 
before  alluded  to.  "We  haven't  played  our 
best  card  yet.  One  of  you  two  was  riding  a 
roan  colt  when  you  came  to  Merrick's,  and 
there  aint  no  such  horse  in  Truman's  stable." 

"Did  Merrick's  nigger  tell  you  that?" 
asked  Tom. 

His  self-control  was  surprising.  He  sat  up 
in  his  chair  and  boldly  faced  his  questioner, 
while  E-odney,  wishing  that  the  floor  might 
open  and  let  him  down  into  the  cellar,  told 
himself  more  than  once  that  he  never  would 
hear  the  last  of  that  roan  colt  the  longest  day 
he  lived. 

"No  matter  who  told  us,"  was  the  rei)ly. 
"We  know  it  to  be  a  fact.  The  roan  was 
taken  into  Merrick's  w^oods,  and  he  wasn't 
brought  out  this  morning.  Did  you  make  a 
trade  with  Merrick,  or  with  some  of  Hobson's 
friends  ?  " 

"If  you  want  to  know  you  had  better  ask 
them,"  answered  Tom. 

"That's  what  we  intend  to  do;  and  we 
intend,  further,  that  you  shall  stay  with  us 
till  we  get  to  the  bottom  of  this  thing.     There 


282  KODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

is  something  about  you  that  isn't  just  right 
and  we  mean  to  iind  out  what  it  is." 

"  I  can  tell  you  all  about  that  horse,"  Rod- 
ney interposed. 

**It  isn't  worth  while  for  you  to  waste  your 
breath,  and  besides  this  is  a  dangerous  place 
to  stay,  with  Price's  men  scouting  around 
through  the  neighborhood,"  said  the  leader, 
who  now  showed  a  disposition  to  resume  the 
management  of  affairs.  "It  wont  take  more 
than  two  or  three  days  to  ride  back  to  Mer- 
rick's and  from  there  to  Pilot  Knob,  and 
straighten  everything  out  in  good  shape." 

''  But  we  are  in  a  hurry.  We  don't  want  to 
go  back,"  exclaimed  Tom  ;  and  it  was  plain  to 
every  one  in  the  room  that  the  bare  proposi- 
tion frightened  him. 

''  I  don't  sui)pose  you  do  want  to  go  back," 
said  the  leader,  in  a  significant  tone,  ' '  but  we 
can't  help  that.  It's  time  you  Secesh  were 
taught  that  you  can't  go  prowling  about 
through  the  country  imposing  upon  Union 
men  whenever  you  feel  like  it.  We  have 
stood  enough  from  such  as  you,  and  more 
than  we  ever  will  again,   and  I  believe  we 


TWICE  SURPRISED.  283 

should  be  justified  in  dealing  witli  you  here 
and  now.  As  for  you,"  he  added,  shaking  his 
fist  in  Tom's  face  and  fairly  hissing  out  the 
words,  ''  you  are  no  more  the  man  you  claim 
to  be  than  I  am.  You're  traitors,  the  pair  of 
you." 

The  man  was  working  himself  into  a  passion, 
and  it  behooved  the  boys  to  be  careful  what 
they  said.  He  was  in  the  right  mood  to  do 
something  desperate,  for  when  he  ceased 
speaking  and  stepped  back,  breathing  hard 
from  the  excess  of  his  fury,  he  worked  the 
hammer  of  his  gun  back  and  forth  in  a  way 
that  was  enough  to  chill  one's  blood. 

''You'll  be  sorry  for  this  and  quite  willing 
to  acknowledge  it,"  was  what  Tom  said  in 
reply.  ' '  We  don' t  want  to  go  back  for  we  have 
had  trouble  enough  getting  here  ;  but  since 
we  must,  I  hope — " 

Tom  did  not  have  time  to  say  what,  for 
while  everybody's  gaze  was  directed  toward 
him,  and  no  one  thought  of  giving  a  look  out- 
side to  see  that  all  was  right  there,  a  couple  of 
new  actors  apjjeared  upon  the  scene,  glided 
into  the  room  off  the   porch  as  quickly  and 


284  EODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

almost  as  silently  as  spirits.  They  were  Con- 
federate officers  in  full  uniform,  and  each  one 
carried  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand.  At  the 
same  moment  two  windows  on  opposite  sides 
of  the  room  were  shivered  into  fragments,  the 
curtains  were  jerked  down  and  the  black 
muzzles  of  a  dozen  carbines  were  thrust  in.  It 
was  like  a  thunder-bolt  from  a  clear  sky,  and 
it  was  all  done  so  quickly  that  no  one  had  a 
chance  to  move.  The  five  Union  men  were  as 
powerless  for  resistance  as  though  they  had 
held  straws  instead  of  loaded  guns  in  their 
hands. 

''  Don't  move  an  eye-lash,"  said  the  older  of 
the  two  officers,  lifting  his  cap  and  bowing  to 
Mrs.  Truman.  ''  No  exx)]anation  is  necessary, 
for  we  understand  the  situation  perfectly." 
And  to  the  infinite  amazement  of  the  two 
boys,  though  not  much  to  the  surprise  of  the 
other  occupants  of  the  room,  the  speaker, 
when  he  put  his  cap  on  his  head  again,  turned 
toward  Rodney  and  Tom  and  gave  them  a 
military  salute. 

' '  What  do  you  think  of  tliat,  Mr.  Truman  % ' ' 
said  the    leader    of    the    Union    men,   whose 


TWICE  SURPRISED.  285 

courage  did  not  desert  him  even  if  liis  face  did 
change  color.  ' '  Are  you  satisfied  now  that 
these  are  not  the  Union  boys  they  pretended 
to  be?" 

''I  am,"  answered  Mr.  Truman,  while  his 
wife  looked  daggers  at  them.  "If  they  are 
not  Secesh,  how  does  it  come  that  their  friends 
recognize  them  so  quickly  ?  I  suppose  you 
are  Price's  men?"  he  added,  turning  to  the 
ofiicer. 

"Lieutenant,  send  in  two  or  three  fellows 
to  take  these  guns  and  sound  the  prisoners. 
Yes,  sir,  we  belong  to  Price." 

' '  And  you  came  here  expecting  to  find  these 
two  boys  ? " 

"Right  again,"  answered  the  officer.  "If 
we  hadn't  known  they  were  here  we  shouldn't 
have  come."  - 

Of  all  the  occupants  of  the  room  there  were 
none  so  thoroughly  bewildered  and  dazed  as 
Tom  and  Rodney  were.  Was  the  oflSicer  tell- 
ing the  truth  or  cooking  up  a  story  for  reasons 
of  his  own  ?  If  he  really  expected  to  find 
them  in  that  house,  he  was  certainly  mistaken 
in  supposing,   as  he  evidently  did,  that  they 


286  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

were  both  Confederates.  Tom  had  never  set 
eyes  on  him  before,  and  hoped  from  the 
bottom  of  his  heart  that  the  officer  did  not 
know  anybody  in  or  around  Springfield.  He 
hoped,  too,  and  trembled  while  the  thought 
flitted  through  his  mind,  that  no  one  in  the 
room  would  speak  his  name,  for  it  was  his 
turn  to  sail  under  false  colors  now.  . 

Having  sent  his  subordinate  after  some 
soldiers  to  disarm  the  men  of  whom  he  had 
spoken  as  prisoners,  the  officer  dropped  the 
point  of  his  sword  to  the  floor,  came  to  "  par- 
ade rest,"  and  looked  about  the  room 

*  'With  such  a  face  of  Christian  satisfaction 
As  good  men  wear,  who  have  done  a  virtuous  action." 


CHAPTER  XIIL 


WITH   price's   men. 


IJST  obedience  to  the  order  of  his  superior  the 
lieutenant  stepped  upon  the  porch  and 
beckoned  to  some  of  his  men,  who  at  once 
came  in  and  began  the  work  of  disarming  the 
citizens.  Although  the  latter  gave  up  their 
weapons  without  a  show  of  resistance,  they 
scowled  when  they  did  it  in  a  Avay  that  im- 
pelled Tom  to  whisper  to  his  friend  : 

' '  Their  looks  prove  how  desperate  and  sav- 
age they  are,  and  we  are  lucky  in  getting  out 
of  their  hands ;  but  I  don't  know  but  I  have 
jumped  out  of  the  frying-pan  into  the  fire. 
Bear  in  mind  that  from  this  minute  I  go  by 
my  middle  name — Barton.  As  you  value  my 
safety,  don't  say  Percival  once.  I  am  not 
sure  that  these  Confederates  ever  heard  the 
name,  but  I  mustn't  run  the  slightest  risk." 

"Of  course  not,"  replied  Rodney.  "But 
how  in  the  world  do  you  suppose  they  found 
out  that  we  were  here  ?  " 

287 


288  KODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

*' It  will  be  your  place  to  ask  them  about 
that.  You  must  do  the  talking  now.  Do 
you  want  our  guns,  lieutenant  ?  " 

The  latter  stood  by  his  men  while  they  were 
disarming  the  citizens,  and  in  moving  about 
the  room  came  within  reach  of  the  two  boys, 
who  produced  their  revolvers  and  held  them 
so  that  he  could  see  them ;  but  when  he  smiled 
and  waved  his  hand  as  if  to  say  ^'I  don't 
want  them,"  they  put  the  weapons  back  in 
their  places. 

If  it  hadn't  been  for  two  things,  Kodney 
Gray  would  have  been  as  happy  as  a  boy  ever 
gets  to  be.  He  was  among  friends,  the  very 
ones,  too,  he  wanted  to  find,  and  from  that 
time  on  he  could  ajDpear  in  his  true  character ; 
but  he  trembled  for  his  friend  and  for  the 
safety  of  Mr.  Truman's  property.  The  latter, 
remembering  the  lights  he  had  seen  on  the 
clouds  the  night  before,  and  knowing  how 
deadly  was  the  enmity  that  existed  between 
Union  men  and  Confederates  in  his  State, 
could  hope  for  nothing  but  the  worst,  and 
Rodney  thought  from  the  expression  on  his 
face  and  his  wife's,  that  they  were  endeavor- 


o 


AViTH  price's  men.  289 

ing  to  nerve  themselves  for  a  most  trying 
ordeal.  Would  he  have  to  stand  by  and  see 
their  buildings  ge  up  in  smoke  ?  He  hoped 
not,  and  when  the  officer  commanding  the 
squad  came  up  and  shook  hands  with  him  and 
Tom,  Rodney  was  ready  to  say  something  in 
Mr.  Truman's  favor. 

"You  have  been  insulted,  boys,"  said  the 
officer,  in  a  tone  which  implied  that  now  was 
the  time  for  them  to  take  any  revenge  they 
wanted.  "  When  I  was  surrounding  the 
house  I  heard  one  of  these  Yankee  sympathiz- 
ers using  rather  strong  language,  and  de- 
nouncing you  as  Secessionists  trying  to  impose 
upon  Union  men." 

"I  don't  hold  that  against  him,  for  to  tell 
you  the  truth,  that's  just  the  Avay  the  thing 
stands,"  answered  Rodney.  "I  have  been 
playing  Union  man  ever  since  I  left  Mr.  West- 
all  and  his  squad  of  Emergency  men  near  Cedar 
Bluff  landing.  I  had  to,  for  somehow  I  didn't 
fall  in  with  any  but  people  of  that  stamp." 
That  was  all  right,"  answered  the  officer. 

You  couldn't  have  got  through  any  other 
way. 


?5 


290  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


a 


So  you  see  that  Merrick's  darkey  told  you 
nothing  more  than  the  plain  truth,"  he  added, 
addressing  the  citizen  who  had  shaken  a  fist 
under  his  nose. 

'*I  was  sure  of  it,  and  I  am  not  sorry  for 
what  I  did  or  said,"  replied  the  Union  man, 
boldly.  ''  I  am  sorry  that  the  thing  happened 
in  Truman's  house,  and  I  wish  to  assure  you 
that  he  is  in  no  way  to  blame  for  our  being 
here.  You'  ve  got  the  power  on  your  side  now, 
and  I  suppose  you  will  use  it ;  but  whatever  you 
do  to  us,  I  hope  you  will  not  harm  Truman." 

''  I  say  that  a  man  w^ho  can  talk  like  that 
when  he  is  in  danger  himself,  has  pluck," 
Rodney  remarked,  turning  his  back  to  the 
citizen  and  speaking  so  that  no  one  but  the 
officer  and  Tom  could  catch  his  words. 

"Oh,  they've  all  got  pluck,"  replied  the 
officer.  "And  they  hang  together  like  a  lot 
of  brothers." 

"And  I  say  further,  that  brave  men  ought 
not  to  be  harmed  w^hen  they  are  perfectly 
helpless,  as  these  men  are  now,"  continued 
Kodney.  "  You  haven't  anything  against 
them,  have  you,  colonel?" 


WITH  price's  men.  291 

*' Captain,"  corrected  the  latter,  pointing  to 
the  insignia  on  his  collar.  ''You'll  soon  learn 
how  to  tell  one  rank  from  another.  N-o ;  I 
don't  know  that  I  have  anything  against 
them,  except  their  jDrinciples  ;  but  some  of 
their  neighbors  I  saw  to-night  while  I  was 
coming  here,  declare  that  they  are  villains  of 
the  very  worst  sort." 

"  What  else  could  you  expect  in  a  commun- 
ity like  this  where  every  man  has  turned 
against  his  best  friend?"  exclaimed  Tom. 
"  You  are  a  Missourian  and  understand  the 
situation  as  Avell  as  I  do." 

"I  have  been  urged  to  burn  their  houses; 
and  as  I  was  sent  out  to  harass  the  enemy  as 
well  as  to  pick  up  recruits,  I  don't  know  but  I 
had  better  do  it,"  replied  the  captain  ;  and  the 
boys  saw  plainly  enough  that  having  made  up 
his  mind  to  carry  out  his  orders,  he  did  not 
want  to  permit  himself  to  be  turned  from  his 
purpose. 

"But  Rodney  and  I  have  been  well  enough 
drilled  in  military  law  to  know  that  an  officer 
on  detached  service  is  allowed  considerable 
latitude,"  chimed  in  Tom.     "If  you  see  any 


292  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

reason  why  you  should  not  obey  orders  to  the 
very  letter,  you  are  not  expected  to  do  it." 

"And  in  this  case  I  hope  you  wont  do  it," 
pleaded  Rodney.  "If  those  cowardly  neigh- 
bors, who  tried  to  set  out  against  these  Union 
men,  want  their  property  destroyed,  let  them 
do  the  dirty  work  themselves.  I  don' t  believe 
in  making  war  on  people  who  don't  think  as 
I  do." 

"I  don't  reckon  there  are  any  half -wild 
Unionists  in  your  settlement,"  said  the  cap- 
tain, wdth  a  smile. 

"I  know  it.  I  am  from  Louisiana  where 
Union  men  have  to  keep  their  tongues  to 
themselves,"  replied  Rodney  ;  and  then  seeing 
that  the  captain  looked  surprised  he  hastened 
to  add  :  "I  came  to  Missouri  to  enlist  under 
Price  because  I  couldn't  join  a  partisan  com- 
pany where  I  lived  ;  and  I  was  encouraged  to 
come  by  a  telegram  I  received  from  Dick  Gra- 
ham's  father.  Dick  is  one  of  Price's  men  and 
perhaps  you  know  him." 

"Do  youl"  inquired  the  lieutenant,  who 
stood  by  listening. 

"I  ought  to,  and  so  had  Tom,  for  Ave  went 


WITH  price's  men.  293 

to  school  with  him,  and  belonged  to  his  class 
and  company." 

"  Where  was  that  ? " 

' '  At  the  Barrington  Military  Academ  y.  I 
am  Rodney  Gray  and  my  friend  is  Tom  Bar- 
ton." 

Rodney  said  all  this  at  a  venture  and  was 
overjoyed  to  hear  the  lieutenant  say,  as  he 
thrust  out  his  hand  : 

''  Shake.  I  ought  to  know  Rodney  Gray, 
for  I  have  often  heard  the  sergeant  speak  of 
him  as  the  hottest  rebel  in  school ;  but  I  dorr  t 
remember  that  I  ever  heard  him  mention  Bar- 
ton's name." 

'*  He  w^asn't  as  intimate  wdth  Tom  as  he  was 
with  me,"  Rodney  explained.  "There  was  a 
difference  in  their  politics." 

"  That  accounts  for  it.  Graham  was  neutral 
until  his  State  moved,  and  Barton  here  was  an 
ardent  Secessionist  from  the  start.  That's  just 
the  way  my  captain  and  I  stand  now.  I  began 
shouting  for  Southern  rights  as  soon  as  Caro- 
lina went  out,  and  he  didn't." 

"IN'o,  Dick  held  back,"  said  Tom,  "but 
Rodney  did  not.     He  was  the  first  academy 


294  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

boy  to  hoist  the  Stars  and  Bars.  But  now, 
captain,  say  that  you  Avill  not  harm  these 
folks.  They  haven't  done  anything,  and  as 
for  the  strong  language  they  used  toward  us  a 
while  ago — we  don't  mind  that." 

"Who's  your  authorit}^  for  saying  that  they 
haven't  done  anything?"  demanded  the  cap- 
tain. "You  seem  to  think  that  they  are  the 
most  innocent,  inoffensive  people  in  the  Avorld  ; 
but  I  know  that  is  not  characteristic  of  Union- 
ists in  this  part  of  the  country.  How  do  you 
know  but  that  they  have  ambushed  scores  of 
Confederates? " 

"We  don't  know  it ;  and  seeing  that  you 
don't  know  it  either,  why  not  give  them  the 
benefit  of  the  doubt  and  let  their  neighbors  see 
that  they  get  their  deserts  ?  Why  not  be  sat- 
isfied with  what  you  have  already  done  ?  You 
burned  two  houses  last  night." 

"  I  am  aware  of  it.  The  men  to  whom  they 
belonged  are  noted  bushwhackers,  and  I  went 
miles  out  of  my  way  to  teach  them  that  they 
had  better  let  our  people  alone — that  burning 
and  shooting  are  games  that  two  can  play  at. 
But  I  have  no  heart  for  more  work  of  that 


WITH  price's  men.  295 

sort,  and  so  I'll  not  trouble  these  men  since 
you  seem  to  be  so  tender-hearted  toward 
them." 

''Thank  you,  sir;  thank  you,"  replied  Rod- 
ney, heartily.  "  IS^ow  will  you  pass  us  out, 
and  send  some  men  to  the  stable  with  us  to  get 
our  horses?" 

"I'll  go  with  you  myself,"  said  the  lieuten- 
ant ;  but  as  he  was  about  to  lead  the  way  out 
of  the  house  he  stopped  to  hear  what  his  cap- 
tain had  to  say  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Truman. 

''  We  shall  not  touch  your  property,  and 
you  may  thank  these  two  'traitors'  for  it," 
said  the  officer ;  and  when  he  said  "traitor," 
he  waved  his  hand  toward  Rodney  and  Tom 
and  paused  to  note  the  effect  of  his  words. 

The  men,  after  the  first  shock  of  surprise 
had  passed,  seemed  ready  to  drop,  Mr.  Tru- 
man leaned  heavily  against  the  nearest  wall, 
and  his  wife,  who  had  borne  up  as  bravely  as 
the  best  of  them,  behaved  as  women  usually 
do  under  such  circumstances.  She  buried  her 
face  in  her  handkerchief  and  sobbed  violently. 

"  I  hope  you  gentlemen  will  remember  my 
forbearance  and  be  equally  lenient  toward  any 


296  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


> 


Confederate  who  may  chance  to  fall  into  your 
power,"  continued  the  captain,  whose  calm, 
steady  voice  had  grown  husky  all  on  a  sudden. 
''  We  are  not  a  bad  lot,  but  we  are  going  to 
govern  this  State  as  we  please,  and  you  will 
save  yourselves  trouble  if  you  will  stop  fight- 
ing against  us.  You'll  have  to  do  it  sooner  or 
later.  Of  course  I  shall  be  obliged  to  deprive 
you  of  your  guns,  for  you  might  be  tempted 
to  shoot  them  at  some  loyal  Jackson  man 
when  we  are  not  here  to  protect  him.  I  ha^e 
saved  these  young  gentlemen  from  your 
clutches,  and  as  that  was  what  I  came  for,  I 
will  bid  you  good-evening." 

Rodney  Gray  did  not  hear  much  of  this 
polite  address  for  a  new  fear  had  taken  pos- 
session of  him,  and  he  took  the  opportunity  to 
say  to  his  friend  Tom  : 

"You  go  with  the  lieutenant  after  the 
horses,  and  I  will  stay  with  the  cax)tain  to  say 
a  word  in  your  defense  in  case  any  of  these 
Union  people  happen  to  speak  your  name,  or 
let  out  anything  else  you  would  rather  keep 
hidden." 

Tom  thought   this  a   o-ood  suo:o:estion.     It 


WITH  price's  men.  297 

would  certainly  be  disagreeable,  and  perhaps 
dangerous,  to  have  the  captain  tell  him  when 
he  returned  with  the  horses  that  he  wasn't 
Tom  Barton  at  all — that  his  real  name  was 
Percival,  that  he  was  the  commander  of  a 
company  of  Union  men  who  had  offered  to 
help  Lyon  at  St.  Louis,  and  all  that.  While 
Tom  did  not  think  the  captain  would  believe 
such  a  story  if  it  were  told  him,  it  might  sug- 
gest to  him  some  leading  questions  that  the 
boys  would  find  it  hard  to  answer.  So  he  left 
Rodney  to  act  as  a  sort  of  rear  guard,  and 
went  off  to  the  stable  with  the  lieutenant. 

"Did  you  really  know  that  we  were  in  the 
house  ?"  Tom  asked,  when  he  was  alone  with 
the  officer.  "  If  you  did,  it  can't  be  that  Mer- 
rick's boy  told  you." 

"  Of  course  he  didn't.  He  would  have  kept 
it  from  us  if  he  could,  but  all  the  same  the 
information  came  from  him  in  the  first  place. 
The  blacks  in  these  parts  are  all  Union — no 
one  need  waste  his  breath  telling  me  dif- 
ferent— and  that  scamp  of  a  boy  lost  no  time 
in  spreading  it  among  the  Union  men  in  the 
neighborhood    that   there    were  a  couple  of 


298  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


J 


'  disguised  rebels,'  as  lie  called  you  and 
Gray,  putting  up  at  Truman's  house.  That 
was  the  way  those  five  fellows  came  to  get  on 
your  trail  ;  but,  as  good  luck  would  have  it, 
the  darkey  told  the  story  to  too  many.  Xot 
being  as  well  acquainted  in  this  settlement  as 
he  probablj^  is  in  his  own,  he  told  it  to  a  Jack- 
son man,  who  rode  to  our  camp  and  told  us  of 
it.  If  it  hadn't  been  for  that  we  should  be 
miles  away  now  ;  but  of  course  we  couldn't 
think  of  going  oif  and  leaving  some  of  our 
own  iDeox^le  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy." 

"You  rendered  us  a  most  important  service," 
replied  Tom  ;  and   he  told   nothing  but   the 
truth  when  he  said  it.     "  It  is  necessary  that  I 
should  go  home  on  business,  but  Rodney  Gray 
want's  to  enlist  in  an  independent  command 
as  soon  as  he  can  get  the  chance.     Didn't  you 
speak  of  Dick  Graham  as  a  sergeant?  " 
"  Mav  be  so.     That's  ^vhat  he  is." 
"  Does  he  belong  to  your  comx^any  ? " 
"  No  ;  but  he  belongs  to  our  regiment,  and 
that's  how  I  came  to  get  acquainted  wdth  him. 
He's  got  more  friends  than  any  other  fellow^  I 
know  of,  and  he  will  be  glad  to  see  an  old 


WITH  price's  men.  299 

schoolmate  once  more.  I  have  heard  him  tell 
of  Rodney  Gray  and  the  scrapes  he  got  into 
by  speaking  his  mind  so  freely,  and  I  am  not 
the  only  one  in  the  regiment  who  thinks  that 
the  Barrington  Military  Academy  is  a  disgrace 
to  the  town  and  State  in  which  it  is  located. 
The  citizens  ought  to  have  turned  out  some 
night  and  torn  it  up  root  and  branch." 

"They  would  have  had  a  good  time  trying 
it,"  said  Tom.  "The  boys  punched  one 
another  s  head  on  the  parade  ground  now  and 
then,  but  it  wasn't  safe  for  an  outsider  to  in- 
terfere with  our  private  affairs." 

"  Why,  the  Confederates  wouldn't  fight  for 
the  Union  boys,  would  they  1 "  exclaimed  the 
lieutenant.  "That's  a  little  the  strangest 
thing  I  ever  heard  of.  We  don't  do  business 
that  way  in  Missouri,  and  I  could  see  that  our 
boys  didn't  like  it  Avhen  you  and  Gray  stuck 
up  for  those  Yankee  sympathizers  back  there 
in  the  house." 

Perhaps  they  wouldn't  have  liked  it  either, 
if  they  had  known  how  Tom  and  Rodney  had 
"stuck  up"  for  each  other  ever  since  they 
met  at  Cedar  Bluff  landing.     But  that  was  a 


300  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

piece  of  neAvs  that  Tom  did  not  touch  upon. 
He  intended  to  reserve  it  for  Dick  Graham's 
private  ear. 

''  And  in  the  meantime  I  mustn't  neglect  to 
ascertain  just  when  and  where  the  lieutenant 
expects  to  rejoin  his  regiment,  so  that  I  can 
take  the  first  chance  that  offers  to  get  away 
and  strike  out  for  home,"  thought  Tom. 
"Dick  wouldn't  expect  to  see  me  in  Rodney 
Gray's  company,  and  might  betray  me  before 
he  knew  what  he  was  doing." 

Having  saddled  and  bridled  the  horses  Tom 
and  the  lieutenant  returned  to  the  house,  the 
former  somewhat  anxious  to  know  if  anything 
had  been  said  during  his  absence  that  could 
be  brought  up  against  him.  But  a  glance  and 
a  reassuring  smile  from  Rodney  were  enough 
to  show  him  that  he  had  nothing  to  fear  on 
that  score.  The  guards  stood  at  the  windows 
watching  the  party  inside,  the  horses  had 
been  brought  into  the  yard  in  readiness  for 
the  squad  to  mount,  and  Rodney  and  the  cap- 
tain were  sitting  on  the  front  steps.  The  pris- 
oners, if  such  they  could  be  called,  were  too 
sullen  to  exchange  a  word  with  the  Confeder- 


WITH   PRICE'S   MEN.  301 

ates,  and  the  captain  tliouglit  it  beneath  his 
dignity  to  talk  to  Union  men  ;  and  Rodney 
was  glad  to  have  it  so. 

"Bring  in  the  guards  and  get  a-going,"  was 
the  order  the  captain  gave  when  his  lieuten- 
ant came  up  ;  and  this  made  it  evident  to 
the  well-drilled  Barrington  boys  that  Captain 
Hubbard's  company  of  Rangers  were  not  the 
only  Confederates  who  had  a  good  deal  to 
learn  before  they  could  call  themselves  sol- 
diers. But  his  men  understood  the  order,  and 
it  was  the  work  of  but  a  few  minutes  for  them 
to  get  into  their  saddles  and  set  off  down  the 
road,  and  they  did  it  without  pajing  any 
more  attention  to  the  men  in  the  house.  Rod- 
ney rode  beside  the  captain  at  the  head  of  the 
column,  Tom  and  the  lieutenant  coming  next 
in  line.  The  former  thought  it  was  a  good 
evening's  work  all  around,  and  that  Merrick's 
red-eyed  darkey  could  not  have  done  him  a 
greater  service  if  he  had  been  a  friend  to  him 
instead  of  an  enemy.  He  had  had  a  narrow 
escape  from  being  taken  into  the  presence  of 
men  he  hoped  he  might  never  see  again,  but 
he  was  all  right  now.     So  was  Tom,  for  if  he 


302  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


wasn't  already  beyond  the  danger  of  betrayal, 
he  certainly  would  be  by  the  time  daylight 
came. 

"No  ;  we  shall  not  march  all  night,"  said 
tlie  captain,  in  response  to  an  inquiry  from 
Rodney.  "  We  have  been  in  the  saddle  pretty 
steadily  for  the  last  week,  and  both  men  and 
horses  are  in  need  of  rest.  But  I  shall  take 
good  care  to  get  out  of  this  settlement  before 
going  into  camp.  I  don' t  want  to  be  ambushed. ' ' 

"I  don't  think  those  men  back  there  would 
do  such  a  thing,"  replied  Rodney.  "They 
seemed  very  grateful  to  you  for  letting  them 
off  so  easily." 

"Ha!"  exclaimed  the  captain.  "They 
would  do  it  in  a  minute  if  they  thought  they 
could  escape  the  consequences.  You  don't 
know  how  bitter  everybody  is  against  every- 
body else  Avho  doesn'  t  train  with  his  crowd, 
and  you'll  have  to  live  among  us  a  while 
before  you  can  understand  it." 

"  When  shall  I  have  the  pleasure  of  shak- 
ing Dick  Graham  by  the  hand?"  inquired 
Rodney.  "  Does  he  stand  up  for  State  Rights 
as  strongly  as  he  used  ? " 


WITH  price's  men.  303 

''  Yes  ;  and  I  am  with  him.  You  see,  when 
the  election  was  held  in  '60,  our  people,  by  a 
vote  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand 
to  thirty  thousand,  decided  against  the  ex- 
treme rule-or-ruin  party  of  the  South,  and 
declai^ed  that  Missouri  ought  to  stay  in  the 
Union  ;  but  at  the  same  time  they  didn't  deny 
that  she  had  a  perfect  right  to  go  out  if  she 
wanted  to.  If  she  decide'd  to  go  with  South 
Carolina  and  the  other  cotton  States,  the  gov- 
ernment at  Washington  had  no  business  to 
send  soldiers  here  to  stop  her  ;  neither  had 
those  troops  from  Illinois  any  business  to 
come  across  the  Mississippi  and  steal  our  guns 
out  of  the  St.  Louis  arsenal.  That  was  an  act 
of  invasion,  and  we  had  a  right  to  get  mad 
about  it.  We  decided  to  remain  neutral,  and 
our  General  Price  made  an  agreement  with  the 
Federal  General  Harney  to  that  effect ;  but 
that  did  not  suit  the  abolitionists  who  want 
war  and  nothing  else.  They  took  Harney's 
command  away  from  him  and  gave  it  to  Lyon, 
who  at  once  proceeded  to  do  everything  he 
could  to  drive  us  to  desperation.  He  drove  us 
out  of  Jefferson  City  and  Booneville,  and  now 


304  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

he  has  sent  that  Dutchman  Siegel  to  Spring- 
field to  see  what  damage  he  can  do  there." 

' '  But  what  was  the  reason  Siegel  w^as  sent  to 
Springfield  ? "  inquired  Tom,  wdio,  riding  close 
behind  the  captain,  heard  every  w^ord  he  said. 
'' Wasn't  it  to  repel  the  invasion  of  McCul- 
loch,  w^ho  was  coming  from  Arkansas  with 
eight  hundred  bandits  he  called  Texan  Ran- 
gers ?  Has  he  any  right  to  ride  rough-shod 
through  our  State,  when  some  of  our  own 
citizens  are  not  permitted  to  stick  their  heads 
out  of  doors  ?" 

"Hallo!"  exclaimed  the  captain,  turning 
about  in  his  saddle  to  face  Tom,  w  hile  Rodney 
began  to  fear  that  his  friend's  tongue  would 
get  them  both  into  trouble.  "You  are  about 
the  same  kind  of  a  Confederate  I  am,  only  I 
don't  blurt  out  my  opinions  in  that  style,  and 
you  hadn't  better  do  it,  either.  To  be  con- 
sistent I  am  obliged  to  say  that  those  Texans 
had  no  business  to  come  over  the  Missouri 
line,  but  circumstances  alter  cases.  We  are  in 
trouble,  we  can't  stand  against  the  power  of 
the  abolition  government,  and  I  shall  be  glad 
to  see  that  man  McCuUoch." 


o 


WITH  price's   MEN".  305 

*'  I  understand  that  there  had  been  no  fight- 
ing to  speak  of,  and  yet  you  say  we  have  been 
driven  out  of  two  places,"  said  Rodney. 

"Oh,  we  were  not  ready  and  the  Yankees 
were,"  answered  the  captain.  "  We  had  just 
fighting  enough  to  give  us  a  chance  to  learn 
how  gunpowder  smells.  We  are  waiting  for 
McCulloch  now,  and  when  he  comes,  we'll 
assume  the  offensive  and  drive  Lyon  out  of 

the  State." 

"  That's  the  very  thing  I  came  here  for,  and 
I  am  glad  to  know  that  I  shall  be  in  time  to 
help,"  said  Rodney  gleefully.  ''  But  are  you 
a  partisan  and  is  Dick  Graham  one,  also  ?  " 

"Yes,  to  both  your  questions;  but  of 
course  we  are  sworn  into    the  service  of  the 

State." 

"  You  couldn't  be  ordered  out  of  the  State, 

could  you  ?"  "- 

"Not  by  a  long  shot,  and  we  w^ouldn't  go  if 
we  were  ordered  out.  If  other  States  desire 
independence,  let  them  win  it  without  calling 
upon  their  neighbors  for  help.  That's  what 
we  intend  to  do." 

"And  that  w^as  another  thing  I  wanted  to 


306  KODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

know,"  said  Eodney,  with  a  sigh  of  relief. 
"I  am  satisfied  now,  and  wish  my  company 
was  here  Avith  me.  Some  of  the  members 
seemed  willing  and  even  anxious  to  come, 
but  when  the  thing  was  brought  before  them 
in  the  form  of  a  resolution,  they  voted 
against  it." 

And  then  he  went  on  to  tell  the  captain  Iioav 
it  happened  that  he  came  to  Missouri  alone, 
not  forgetting  to  mention  how  he  had  fooled 
the  telegraph  operators  at  Baton  Kouge  and 
Mooreville. 

"Those  operators  told  that  St.  Louis  cotton- 
factor  I  w^as  a  Confederate  bearer  of  dis- 
patches," said  he,  in  winding  up  his  stor3^ 
"But  I   haven't    a    scrap  of    writing    about 


me." 


"  You  are  a  great  deal  safer  without  any," 
replied  the  officer.  "  Suppose  those  Union 
men  at  Truman's  house  had  searched  you  and 
found  a  letter  of  introduction  to  some  well- 
known  Confederate  living  in  these  parts  ! 
They  might  have  strung  you  up  before  we  had 
time  to  go  to  your  relief.  But  how  did  you 
fall    in    with  your  old  schoolmate,   Barton  ? 


WITH  price's  men.  307 

You  couldn't  have  expected  to  meet  him  at 
the  landing  ?  " 

This  was  a  question  that  Rodney  Gray  had 
been  dreading,  for  you  will  remember  that  he 
had  had  no  opportunity  to  hold  a  private  con- 
sultation with  Tom  and  ask  him  what  sort  of  a 
reply  he  should  make  when  this  inquiry  was 
propounded,  as  it  was  sure  to  be  sooner  or 
later.  He  turned  about  in  his  saddle  and  rode 
side  way  so  that  Tom  could  hear  every  word  he 
said. 

*'  He  was  the  last  j)erson  in  the  world  I  ex- 
pected to  see  when  I  left  the  steamer  at  Cedar 
Bluff  landing  to  get  ahead  of  the  Yankee 
cotton-factor  in  St.  Louis,"  said  Rodney. 
' '  Tom  had  been  over  Cape  Girardeau  way  on 
business,  and  got  a  trifle  out  of  his  reckoning 
when  Mr.  Westall  and  his  party  of  Emergency 
men  picked  him  up  and  brought  him  to  the 
wood-cutters'  camp.  We  slept  there  that 
night  and  came  out  together  in  the  morn- 
ing." 

This  was  a  desperate  story  to  tell,  seeing 
that  they  were  not  yet  out  of  reach  of  men 
who  could  easily  prove  that  there  was  quite 


308  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

as  mucli  falsehood  as  truth  in  it,  but  Kodney 
did  not  know  what  else  to  say.  He  rested  his 
hoi3es  of  safety  ni)on  the  supposition  that  the 
Confederate  captain  had  done  all  his  scouting 
on  interior  lines,  and  that  he  had  not  been  into 
the  river  counties  until  he  came  to  Truman's 
house  to  rescue  him  and  Tom  from  the  power 
of  the  Union  men  ;  and  there  was  where  his 
good  luck  stood  him  in  hand.  More  than 
that,  Dick  Graham  was  one  of  the  best  known 
members  of  his  regiment,  and  it  would  have 
taken  a  pretty  good  taller  to  make  the  cap- 
tain believe  that  there  could  be  anything 
wrong  with  one  of  Dick' s  friends. 

While  this  conversation  was  going  on  Rod- 
ney noticed  that  the  captain  was  constantly  on 
his  guard,  and  that  as  often  as  they  reached  a 
place  where  the  woods  came  down  close  to  the 
road  on  each  side,  his  men  closed  up  the  ranks 
without  waiting  for  orders.  Every  house  they 
passed  was  as  dark  as  a  dungeon,  and  no 
sounds  of  music  and  dancing  came  from  the 
negro  quarters.  The  people,  white  and  black, 
had  gone  into  their  houses  and  barred  their 
doors  to  wait  until  these  unwelcome  visitors  in 


WITH  price's  men.  309 

gray  liad  taken  tliemselves  out  of  the  neigh- 
borhood. 

Before  the  captain  went  into  camp,  which 
he  did  about  midnight,  Tom  Percival,  as  we 
shall  continue  to  call  him,  had  ample  time  to 
question  the  lieutenant  and  find  out  where  his 
regiment  was  stationed  and  when  he  expected 
to  join  it.  The  last  question,  however,  was 
one  that  the  young  officer  could  not  answer 
with  any  degree  of  accuracy. 

*' You  see  we  have  some  men  with  us  wdio 
are  not  in  uniform,  do  you  not?"  said  he. 
' '  Well,  they  are  the  recruits  we  have  picked 
up  since  we  have  been  out  on  this  scout.  They 
have  been  terribly  persecuted  by  the  Union 
men  in  their  settlement,  and  want  us  to  stop 
on  our  way  back  long  enough  to  burn  those 
Union  men  out.  If  we  do,  it  will  delay  us  a 
day  or  two  ;  if  we  don't,  and  keep  lumbering 
right  along,  we  shall  be  with  the  rest  of  the 
boys  in  less  than  forty-eight  hours." 

This  was  w4iat  Tom  w^anted  to  know ;  and 
he  decided  that  when  the  squad  reached  the 
old  post-rode  and  turned  up  toward  the  place 
at  which  the  regiment  was  stationed,  he  w^ould 


310       •  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

go  south,  toward  Springfield,  and  so  avoid  the 
risk  of  meeting  Dick  Graham. 

"I  suppose  you  know  your  own  business 
best,"  said  the  lieutenant,  when  Tom  an- 
nounced his  decision.  "But  I'll  never  go 
piking  off  through  the  country  alone  so  long 
as  I  know  what  I  am  doing.  There^s  too  much 
danger  in  it.  When  you  get  ready  to  go  into 
the  service,  remember  that  our  regiment  is  one 
of  the  very  best,  and  that  we  are  ready  to  wel- 
come all  volunteers  with  open  arms." 

The  two  boys  slept  under  the  same  blankets 
that  night,  but  the  talking  they  did  was  in- 
tended for  the  benefit  for  those  who  were 
lying  near  them,  rather  than  for  each  other. 
Tom  sent  numberless  messages  to  Dick  Gra- 
ham, and  wanted  Rodney  to  be  sure  and  tell 
him  that  he  (Tom)  w^ould  be  a  member  of  his 
company  before  its  next  battle  with  the  Yan- 
kees ;  all  of  which  Rodney  promised  to  bear 
in  mind.  The  squad  broke  their  fast  next 
morning  on  provisions  which  they  had  "for- 
aged" from  the  Union  men  whose  buildings 
they  had  destroyed  two  nights  before,  and  at 
eight  o'clock  arrived    at    the    old    post-road 


WITH  price's  men.  311 

• 

where  the  Barrington  boys  were  to  take  leave 
of  each  other,  to  meet  again  perhaps  under 
hostile  flags  and  Avith  deadly  weapons  in  their 
hands.  But  there  was  one  thing  about  it : 
They  might  be  enemies  in  name,  but  they 
never  would  in  spirit. 

"  There  goes  one  of  the  bravest  and  best  fel- 
lows that  ever  lived,"  said  Rodney,  facing 
about  in  his  saddle  to  take  a  last  look  at  his 
friend  who  rodo  away  with  a  heavy  heart. 

"  Don't  be  so  solemn  over  it,"  said  the  cap- 
tain. ''  Didn't  he  say  he  would  come  back  as 
soon  as  he  could  V 

Yes,  that  was  what  Tom  said  ;  but  the 
trouble  was,  that  when  he  came  again  he 
might  come  in  such  a  way  that  Rodney  could 
not  shake  hands  with  him. 


CHAPTER  Xiy. 

*'  HURKAH   FOR  BULL   RUN  !  " 

HxiyiNG  decided  that  lie  would  waste  too 
much  time  if  he  turned  from  his  course 
to  i^unish  the  Union  men  who  had  persecuted 
his  recruits,  the  captain  "kept  lumbering 
right  along,"  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  next 
day  came  within  sight  of  the  town  in  which 
his  regiment  had  been  encamped  when  he  left 
it  to  start  on  his  scout ;  but  there  was  not  a 
tent,  a  wagon  or  a  soldier  to  be  seen  about 
the  place  now,  and  a  citizen  who  came  out  to 
meet  him,  brought  the  information  that  the 
regiment  had  moved  South  to  join  Rains  and 
Jackson,  who  were  marching  toward  ISTeosho,  a 
short  distance  from  Springfield  :  and  at  the 
same  time  he  gave  the  captain  a  written  order 
from  his  colonel  to  join  his  command  with  all 
haste. 

' '  If  we  had  known  this  before,  we  might 
have  kept  comxDany  with  your  friend  Tom," 
said  the  captain,  as  he  faced  the  squad  about 

313 


"hurrah  for  bull  run!"  313 

after  a  fashion  of  his  own  and  started  them  on 
the  back  track.  ''Both  sides  seemed  to  be 
concentrating  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
State,  and  there's  where  the  battle-ground  is 
going  to  be." 

"  !N'ot  all  the  time,  I  hope,"  said  Rodney. 

"Of  course  not.  We'll  drive  the  enemy 
back  on  St.  Louis,  and  wind  up  by  taking  that 
city.  General  Pillow  will  march  u}^  from  New 
Madrid  to  co-operate  with  us,  and  perhaps  he 
will  stop  on  the  way  to  take  Cairo.  I  hope  he 
will,  to  pay  those  Illinois  chax^s  for  robbing 
the  St.  Louis  armory." 

This  was  a  very  pretty  programme  but  the 
captain  thought  it  could  be  easily  carried  out, 
and  the  very  next  day  he  heard  a  piece  of 
news  which  caused  him  to  make  several 
additions  to  it.  As  the  squad  was  moving 
past  a  plantation  house  an  excited  man,  who 
was  in  too  great  a  hurry  to  get  his  hat,  rushed 
down  to  the  gate  flourishing  a  paper  over  his 
head  and  shouted,  at  the  top  of  his  voice  : 

"Hurrah  for  Jeff  Davis!  Hurrah  for 
Johnston  !  Hurrah  for  Bull  Run  and  all  the 
rest  of  'em  !  " 


314  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


'*  What's  up?  "  inquired  the  captain,  rein- 
ing in  his  horse. 

"Here's  something  that  one  of  Price's  men 
slung  at  me  yesterday  while  he  was  riding 
along,"  rei)lied  the  planter,  opening  the  gate 
and  placing  the  pa^^er  in  the  officer's  eager 
palm.  "  Aint  we  walking  over 'em  rough- 
shod though,  and  didn't  I  say  all  the  while 
that  we  were  bound  to  do  it?  A  Northern 
mechanic  has  got  no  business  alongside  a 
Southern  gentleman." 

"  Have  we  had  a  fight  ?"  asked  the  captain. 
"  I  wonder  if  my  regiment  was  in  it." 

"No,  I  don't  reckon  it  was,"  answered  the 
man,  with  a  laugh.  "You  see  it  happened 
out  in  Virginny,  a  few  miles  from  Washington. 
I  wish  I  might  get  a  later  paper' n  that,  for  I 
calculate  to  read  in  it  that  our  boys  are  in 
Washington  dictating — " 

"Hey — youp !  "  yelled  the  captain,  who 
began  to  understand  the  matter  now. 

"Price's  men  whooped  and  yelled  worse' n 
that  when  they  went  by  yesterday,"  said  the 
man,  jumping  up  and  knocking  his  heels 
together  like  a  boy  who  had  just  been  turned 


"hurrah  for  bull  run!"  315 

loose  from  school.  "  That's  Davis's  dispatch 
right  there.  He  went  out  from  Richmond  to 
watch  the  fight,  and  got  there  just  in  time  to 
see  the  Yankees  running." 

The  oflicer,  who  was  worked  up  to  such  a 
pitch  of  excitement  that  the  paper  rustled  in 
his  trembling  hands,  glanced  over  the  black 
headlines  to  which  the  planter  directed  his 
attention,  and  then  read  the  dispatch  aloud 
so  that  his  men  could  hear  it.  It  ran  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  Night  has  closed  upon  a  hard- fought  field. 
Our  forces  were  victorious.  The  battle  was 
fought  mainly  on  our  left.  Our  forces  were 
fifteen  thousand  ;  that  of  the  enemy  estimated 
at  thirty-five  thousand." 

"And  when  the  Yankees  got  a-going," 
chimed  in  the  planter,  clapping  his  hands  and 
swaying  his  body  back  and  forth  after  the 
manner  of  a  negro  who  had  been  carried  away 
by  some  sudden  enthusiasm,  "they  never 
stopped.  It  was  such  a  stampede  that  their 
oflicers  couldn't  do  nothing  with  'em.  The 
soldiers  who  were  running  away  from  the 
battle  met  the  civilians  who  were  riding  out 


316  EODITEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

from  Wasliington  to  see  it,  and  the  two  living 
streams  of  humanity,  one  going  one  way  and 
t'other  going  t'other  way,  got  all  mixed  up 
together  ;  and  all  the  while  there  were  our 
batteries  playing  onto  'em  and  our  cavalry 
riding  through  'em  and  sabering  first  one  and 
then  another,  till — Hey — youp  !  I'll  be  dog- 
gone if  I  can  seem  to  get  it  through  my  head, 
although  I  have  read  it  more'n  a  hundred 
times." 

This  astounding  intelligence  almost  took 
away  the  breath  of  the  men  who  listened  to  it. 
Of  course  they  had  known  all  the  while  that 
whipping  the  North  was  going  to  be  as  easy  as 
falling  oif  a  log,  but  to  have  their  opinions 
confirmed  in  this  unexpected  way  almost  over- 
whelmed them.  They  knew  it  was  bound  to 
come,  but  they  hadn't  looked  for  it  so  soon. 
They  gazed  at  one  another  in  silence  for  a 
moment  or  two,  and  then  the  shout  they  set 
up  w^ould  have  done  credit  to  a  larger  squad 
than  theirs.  The  planter,  wlio  really  acted  as 
though  he  had  taken  leave  of  his  senses, 
joined  in,  laughing  and  shaking  his  head  and 
slapping  his  knees  in  a  w^ay  that  set  Rodney 


"hurrah  for  bull  run!"  317 

Gray  in  a  roar.     It  was  a  long  time  before  the 
captain  could  bring  his  squad  to  "attention." 

"There's  a  good  deal  more  in  this  paper," 
said  he,  "and  if  you  will  let  me  have  it,  I 
should  like  to  read  it  to  the  boys  when  we  go 
into  camp.  We  belong  to  Price,  and  want  to 
catch  up  with  the  men  who  went  by  here  yes- 
terday." 

"Then  you'll  have  to  skip  along  right 
peart,"  replied  the  man.  "That's  the  way 
they  were  going— stopped  long  enough  to 
drink  my  well  'most  dry,  and  then  went  off  in 
a  lope.  As  for  the  paper,  take  it  along.  You 
don't  reckon  there's  any  chance  for  a  mistake, 
do  you?" 

"Not  the  slightest.  President  Davis  knew 
what  he  Avas  doing  when  he  sent  that  telegram 
to  Richmond." 

"But  fifteen  thousand  against  thirty-five 
thousand,"  said  the  planter,  whose  excitement 
had  not  driven  all  his  common  sense  out  of  his 
head.  "  That's  big  odds,  and  it  kinder  sticks 
in  my  crop.  Well,  good-by,  if  you  must  be 
going,  and  good  luck  to  you." 

"It  doesn't  stick  in  my  crop,"  replied  the 


318  PwODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

captain.  "  I  knew  we  could  do  it,  and  we'll 
whip  bigger  odds  than  that,  if  they  keep  forc- 
ing Avar  upon  us.  Don't  you  know  that  the 
man  who  looks  for  a  fight  generally  gets  more 
than  he  wants  ?    Forward  !     Trot !  " 

Never  before  had  Rodney  Gray  been  thrown 
into  the  company  of  so  wild  a  set  of  men.  If 
such  a  thing  were  x'>ossible,  they  were  wilder 
than  those  his  Cousin  Marcy  found  on  his 
train  when  he  boarded  it  at  Barrington  on  his 
way  home.  The  first  rational  thought  that 
came  into  his  mind  was  :  What  a  lucky  thing 
that  Tom  Percival  was  well  out  of  the  way 
when  this  news  came !  Tom  would  have  be- 
trayed himself  sure,  for  he  never  could  have 
pulled  off  his  hat  and  shouted  and  whooped 
with  any  enthusiasm  w^hen  he  heard  that  the 
cause  in  which  he  believed,  and  for  which  he 
was  willing  to  risk  his  life,  had  met  with  dis- 
aster. At  length  the  captain,  who  appeared 
to  have  been  awed  into  silence,  said  slowly : 

*'  I,  too,  would  like  to  see  a  later  paper  than 
this.  If  it  is  true  that  the  Federals  were 
utterly  routed  and  thrown  into  such  confusion 
that  their  officers  could  do  nothing  with  them, 


u 


HUKKAH   FOR  BULL  RUN!"  319 


our  victorious  troops  must  have  followed  them 
into  Washington,  and  I  shouldn't  wonder  if 
they  were  there  at  this  moment,  dictating 
terms  of  peace  to  the  Lincoln  government." 

The  paper  that  had  been  given  him,  proved 
to  be  a  copy  of  the  MoUle  Register.  As  the 
captain  talked  he  ran  his  eye  rapidly  over  its 
columns,  and  finally  found  an  editorial  con- 
taining a  piece  of  news  that  caused  him  to 
halt  his  squad  and  face  his  horse  about. 

''  Here's  something  I  want  to  read  to  you," 
said  he.  ''  Come  up  close  on  all  sides  so  that 
you  can  hear  every  word  of  it.  You  know 
that  our  governor  proposed  that  Missouri 
should  remain  neutral,  and  that  a  conference 
was  held  at  the  Planter's  House  in  St.  Louis 
to  talk  the  matter  over.  This  is  what  General 
Lyon  said  in  reply  to  the  governor's  proposi- 
tion, Now  listen,  so  that  you  may  know  who 
is  to  blame  for  the  troubles  that  have  come 
upon  us : 

*'  'Rather  than  concede  to  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri the  right  to  demand  that  government 
shall  not  enlist  troops  within  her  limits,  or 
bring  troops  into  the  State  w^henever  it  please, 


820  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

or  move  its  troops  at  its  own  will,  I  would  see 
every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  State  dead 
and  buried.     This  means  war.' 

''What  do  you  boys  say  to  that?"  con- 
tinued the  captain. 

''  I  say  that  if  the  Yankees  want  war  we'll 
give  them  more  than  they'll  care  to  have," 
answered  one  of  the  squad  ;  and  all  his  com- 
rades yelled  their  approval.  ''Now  while 
you're  reading,  captain,  suppose  you  read 
about  that  big  battle.  Let's  hear  just  how 
bad  our  fifteen  thousand  whij)ped  the  Yankee 
thirty-five  thousand." 

The  officer  complied  and  read  an  account  of 
the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  which  was  so  highly 
sensational  and  so  utterly  unreasonable,  that 
Eodney  Gray's  common  sense  would  not  let 
him  believe  more  than  half  of  it.  He  hoped 
and  believed  that  the  Southern  soldiers  had 
gained  a  glorious  victory  over  the  Lincoln 
hirelings  ;  but  that  there  could  have  been  so 
great  a  difference  in  the  size  of  the  contending 
armies,  did  not  look  reasonable.  Bat  the  cap- 
tain put  implicit  faith  in  the  story. 

' '  It  seems  that  the  Federal  success  in  the 


*' HURRAH  FOR   BULL   RUN  !  "  321 

beginning  of  the  figlit  was  owing  to  their  over- 
whelming numbers,"  said  he.  "But  the  men 
on  our  side  were  gentlemen  who  could  not  be 
driven  by  a  rabble,  and  of  course  they  Avere 
bound  to  win  in  the  end.  But  here  is  an 
article  that  may  be  of  more  interest  to  us.  It 
is  entitled,  '  The  Situation  in  Missouri.' 
You  know  that  Governor  Jackson  went  to 
Jefferson  City  and  issued  a  proclamation 
calling  the  people  to  arms,  and  that  Lyon  came 
up  the  river  on  steamboats  and  routed  him 
from  there  and  from  Booneville,  too.  You 
know  all  about  it,  because  you  were  there  and 
so  was  I.  Well,  the  Northern  papers  think 
that  that  was  a  blow  that  secured  Missouri  to 
the  Union,  and  that  thousands,  who  have  been 
hesitating  which  side  to  take,  Avill  now  enlist 
to  put  down  the  rebellion.  Rebellion!  Ee- 
member  the  word.  That's  what  the  Lincoln 
hirelings  call  the  efforts  of  a  free  peoi3le  to 
maintain  their  freedom.  But  listen  to  what 
the  Register  has  to  say  on  this  point : 

"  'The  Northern  soldiers  prefer  enlisting  to 
starvation.  But  they  are  not  soldiers,  least  of 
all  to   meet   the  hot-blooded,  thorough -bred, 


822  RODNEY,  THE   PAETISAIST. 


impetuous  men  of  the  South.  They  are 
trencher-soldiers  who  enlisted  to  make  war 
upon  rations,  not  upon  men.  They  are  such 
as  marched  through  Baltimore,  squalid, 
wretched,  ragged,  half-naked,  as  the  news- 
papers of  that  city  report  them  ;  fellows  who 
do  not  know  the  breech  of  a  musket  from 
its  muzzle  ;  white  slaves,  peddling  watches  ; 
small-change  knaves  and  vagrants.  These  are 
the  levied  forces  which  Lincoln  arrays  as  can- 
didates for  the  honor  of  being  slaughtered  by 
gentlemen  such  as  Mobile  sends  to  battle.  Let 
them  come  South  and  we  will  put  our  negroes 
to  the  dirty  work  of  killing  them.  But  they 
will  not  come  South.  Not  a  wretch  of  them 
will  live  on  this  side  of  the  border  longer  than 
it  will  take  us  to  reach  the  ground  and  drive 
them  off.' 

"  Can  we  at  the  front  be  whipped  while  our 
friends  at  home  keep  up  such  heart  as  that?  " 
cried  the  excited  captain,  pulling  off  his  cap 
and  flourishing  it  over  his  head  with  one  hand, 
while  he  shook  the  paper  at  his  men  Avith  the 
other.  "  Three  cheers  for  brave  old  Missouri, 
and  confusion  to  everybody  who  wants  to 
keep  her  down." 

"  Everybody  except  Tom  Percival,"  thought 


u 


HURRAH  FOR  BULL   RUN  !  "  323 


Rodney,  as  he  threw  up  his  cap  and  joined  in 
to  help  increase  the  almost  deafening  noise 
that  arose  when  the  officer  ceased  speaking. 
"Whatever  happens  to  anybody  else  I  want 
Tom  to  come  out  all  right." 

After  this  short  delay  the  squad  rode  on 
again,  and  along  every  mile  of  the  road  they 
traversed  they  found  people  to  cheer  them  and 
hurrah    for   the   great   victory   at   Bull  Run. 
There  were  no  signs  of  Union  men  anywhere 
along  the  route,  but  the  blackened  ruins  they 
passed  now  and  then  pointed  out  the  sites  of 
the   dwellings   in   which   some   of  them    had 
formerly  lived.    Those  ruins  had  been  left  there 
by  some  of  Price's  men— scouting  parties  like 
the  one  with  which  he  was  now  riding.     Rod- 
ney had  always  thought  he  should  like  to  be  a 
scout,  but  if  that  was  the  sort  of  work  scouts 
were  expected  to  do,  he  decided  that  he  would 
rather  be  a  regular  soldier.     He  wouldn't  mind 
facing  men  who  had  weapons  in  their  hands, 
because  that  was  what  soldiers  enlisted  for  ; 
but  the  idea  of  turning  women  and  children 
out  into  the  weather,  by  burning  their  houses 
over    their    heads,    was    repugnant    to    him. 


324  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

There  was  one  piece  of  news  lie  and  the  cap- 
tain did  not  get,  although  they  asked  every- 
body for  it.  No  one  could  tell  them  for  cer- 
tain that  the  victorious  Confederates  had  gone 
into  Washington  and  dictated  terms  of  peace 
to  the  Lincoln  government.  There  were 
plenty  who  were  sure  it  had  been  done,  but 
they  had  received  no  positive  information  of 
it.  The  only  news  they  heard  on  which  they 
could  x)lace  reliance  was  that  Price  had  with- 
drawn from  Neosho,  and  effected  a  junction 
with  Jackson  and  Rains  at  Carthage.  That 
was  a  point  in  the  captain's  favor,  for  instead 
of  being  obliged  to  make  a  wide  detour  to 
the  east  and  south  of  Springfield,  he  turned 
squarely  to  the  west  toward  Carthage,  and 
saved  more  than  a  hundred  miles  of  travel,  as 
well  as  the  risk  of  being  captured  by  a  scout- 
ing party  of  Yankee  cavalry. 

The  squad  reached  Carthage  without  seeing 
any  signs  of  Siegel's  troopers,  who  were  sup- 
posed to  be  raiding  through  the  country  in  all 
directions,  and  when  Rodney  rode  into  the 
camp,  which  was  pitched  upon  a  little  rise  of 
ground  a  short  distance  from  the  town,  he  re- 


*' HURRAH   FOR  BULL   RUN  !  "  325 

marked  that  he  had  never  seen  a  stranger 
sight.  The  camp  itself  was  all  riglit.  The 
tents  were  jDroperly  pitched,  the  wagons  and 
artillery  parked  after  the  most  approved  mili- 
tary rules,  and  all  this  was  to  be  expected, 
since  the  commanding  general  was  a  veteran  of 
the  Mexican  war ;  but  the  men  looked  more 
like  a  mob  than  they  did  like  soldiers.  There 
w^ere  eight  thousand  of  them,  and  not  one  in 
ten  was  provided  with  a  uniform  of  any  sort. 
The  guard  who  challenged  them  carried  a 
double-barrel  shotgun,  and  the  only  thing 
military  there  was  about  him,  was  a  rooster's 
feather  stuck  in  the  band  of  his  hat. 

"They're  a  good  deal  better  than  they 
look,"  said  the  captain,  when  Rodney  called 
his  a'ttention  to  the  fact  that  the  sentry 
"  slouched  "  rather  than  walked  over  his  beat, 
and  that  he  didn't  know  how  to  hold  his  gun. 
"  They  are  not  very  well  drilled  yet,  but  they'll 
fight,  and  that  is  the  main  thing.  Think  of 
Washington  and  his  ragamuffins  at  Valley 
Forge  the  next  time  you  feel  disposed  to  criti- 
cise the  boys." 

"  Where  is  the  enemy  ?  "  inquired  Rodney. 


326  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

"He  is  supposed  to  be  concentrating  twenty 
thousand  men  at  Springfield,  thirty-five  miles 
east  of  here,"  replied  the  captain.  "When 
McCulloch  gets  up  from  Arkansaw  we'll  have 
a  little  more  than  fifteen  thousand.  But 
that's  enough.  We'll  be  in  St.  Louis  in  less 
than  a  month.  That  victory  at  Bull  Run  will 
nerve  our  boys  to  do  good  work  when  they  get 
at  it.  Now  where  shall  I  go  to  find  my  regi- 
ment ?  The  colonel  is  the  man  I  want  to  re- 
port to." 

While  the  captain  was  looking  around  to 
find  an  officer  of  whom  he  could  make  in- 
quiries, there  was  a  loud  clatter  of  hoofs  be- 
hind, and  a  moment  afterward  a  spruce  young 
fellow,  handsomely  mounted  and  wearing  a 
uniform  that  Rodney  Gray  would  have  recog- 
nized anywhere,  dashed  by  and  held  on  his 
way  without  once  looking  in  their  direction. 

"There  he  is  now,"  exclaimed  the  captain, 
before  Rodney  had  time  to  speak.  ' '  Oh,  ser- 
geant ! ' ' 

The  horseman  drew  up  and  turned  about 
just  as  Rodney's  hand  was  placed  upon  his 
shoulder.     The  greeting  was  just  such  a  one 


o 


''hurrah  for  bull  run!"  327 

as  any  two  boys  would  extend  to  each  other 
under  similar  circumstances,  and  so  we  need 
not  say  any  more  about  it.  Rodney  and  Dick 
Graham  were  shaking  hands  at  last,  and  two 
brothers  could  not  have  been  more  delighted. 

"How  in  the  world  did  you  get  through 
St.  Louis  without  being  put  in  Jail,  and  wdiere 
did  you  pick  him  up,  captain?"  were  the 
questions  Dick  asked  when  he  recovered  from 
his  surjprise.  "Lyon  is  between  us  and  St. 
Louis,  but  we  manage  to  get  our  mail  pretty 
regularly — Heard  about  Bull  Run?  Wasn't 
that  a  victory  though  ?  Fifteen  thousand 
against  thirty-five  thousand  !  When  we  were 
at  school,  captain — " 

"Where's  the  regiment?"  interrupted  the 
latter.  ' '  I  am  ordered  to  rejiort  to  the  colonel 
at  once." 

"  Over  there,"  replied  Dick,  sweeping  his 
right  arm  around  the  horizon  so  as  to  include 
the  whole  camp  on  that  side  of  the  street. 
"Come  on,  and  I  will  show  you  the  way. 
When  we  were  at  school  the  Union  boys  made 
sport  of  us  rebels  because  we  shouted  our- 
selves hoarse   over  the  victory  in  Charleston 


328  KODNEY,  THE  PAPwTISAN. 

Harbor,  and  declared  tliat  we  ought  to  be 
ashamed  of  ourselves  for  it.  Five  thousand 
men  against  fifty-one  was  not  a  thing  to  be 
proud  of.  But  they  couldn't  say  that  now  if 
they  were  here.  We  won  a  fair  fight  on  the 
field  of  Bull  Run,  although  the  enemy  out- 
numbered us  more  than  two  to  one.  I  say  Ave 
are  going  to  repeat  the  good  work  right  here 
in  Missouri." 

Are  you  Confederate  ?"  inquired  Rodney. 

Not  much.      I'm    State    Rights.      That's 


me. 


5? 


And  you'll  not  be  ordered  out  of  your 
State?" 

''I  may  be  ordered  but  I  wont  go.  That's 
me.  Seen  Jeff  Thompson's  last  proclamation? 
In  it  he  calls  Lyon's  Dutchmen  Hessians  and 
Tories,  and  says  our  first  hard  work  must  be 
to  drive  them  from  the  State.  After  that  has 
been  done,  then  we'll  decide  whether  or  not  we 
want  to  join  the  Confederacy." 

''If  the  Governor  of  Louisiana  had  talked 
that  way  I  would  not  be  here  now,"  said  Rod- 
ney. ''He  tried  to  swear  us  into  the  Con- 
federate   service   against  our   will,   and   that 


*^  HURRAH   FOR  BULL   RUN  !  "  329 

broke  up  the  company.  I  have  as  much  to 
tell  you  as  you  have  to  tell  me,  and  I  propose 
that  we  postpone  our  talking  until  we  can  sit 
down  somewhere  and  have  it  out  with  no  fear 
of  interruption.  Do  you  suppose  I  can  get 
into  your  company  ?  " 

'' I  suppose  you  can,"  replied  Dick,  with  a 
laugh.  ''  When  the  captain  sees  your  writing 
he  will  make  you  orderly  so  quick  you  will 
never  know  it." 

"Then  he'll  never  see  any  of  my  writing," 
said  Rodney,  earnestly.  "If  you  so  much  as 
hint  to  him  that  I  know  a  pen-point  from  a 
pen-holder,  I'll  never  forgive  you.  Captain 
Hubbard's  men  wanted  to  make  me  company 
clerk,  but  I  couldn'  t  see  the  beauty  of  it,  and 
so  they  elected  me  sergeant.  But  I  don't 
want  any  office  now.  I  want  to  remain  a  i^ri- 
vate  so  that  I  will  have  a  chance  to  go  with 
you  if  you  are  sent  out  on  a  scout.  But  bear 
one  thing  in  mind,"  he  added,  in  a  lower  tone, 
"you  needn't  order  me  to  burn  any  houses, 
for  I'll  not  do  it." 

"  I  am  down  on  all  such  fighting  myself," 
rej)lied  Dick,  with  emx)hasis.     "If  we  ever  go 


330  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

out  together  I  will  show  you  as  many  as  half-a- 
dozen  houses  that  would  be  ashes  now  if  it 
hadn't  been  for  me,  and  one  of  them  covers 
the  head  of  one  Thomas  Percival — when  he  is 
at  home." 

Dick  thought  Rodney  would  be  much  sur- 
prised at  this,  but  he  wasn't.  All  he  said 
was : 

"Does  Tom  know  it?" 

"I  don't  suppose  he  does,  or  his  father, 
either  ;  but  I  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  I  have  done  something  to  strengthen  the 
friendship  that  existed  between  Tom  and  my- 
self W'hile  we  w^ere  at  Barrington.  You  will 
know  how  hard  a  time  I  had  in  doing  any 
thing  for  the  Percivals  when  I  tell  you  that 
Tom  is  suspected  of  belonging  to  a  company 
of  Home  Guards." 

"Suspected,  is  he  ?  ^^  said  Hodney,  wath  a 
knowing  wink.  "  Is  that  all  you  know"  about 
him?  He's  captain  of  a  company  he  raised 
himself,  and  rode  all  the  way  alone  to  St. 
Louis  to  ask  Lyon  if  he  could  join  him.  He 
was  afraid  to  trust  the  mails.  He  told  me 
that  the  Vigilance  Committees  had  a  way  of 


u 


HURRAH   FOR  BULL   RUN  !  "  331 


opening  letters  from  suspected  persons,  and  he 
didn't  want  to  run  any  risks." 

"  Well  now,  I  am  beat,"  said  Dick,  who  liad 
listened  to  this  revelation  with  a  look  of  the 
profoundest  astonishment  on  his  face.  "But 
how  does  it  come  that  you  know  so  much 
more  about  him  than  I  do  ?  Have  you  been 
corresponding  with  him  ?  " 

"  I  never  heard  a  word  from  him  from  the 
time  I  left  Barrington  until  I  met  him  at 
Cedar  Bluff  landing  in  a  nest  of  Confederates. 
Tom  was  a  prisoner,  was  known  to  be  Union, 
accused  of  being  a  horse-thief  and  in  a  fair 
way  of  being  hung  ;  but  he  got  out  of  the 
scrape  somehow,  and  I  hope  is  safe  at  home  by 
this  time." 

"  Well,  well,"  repeated  Dick,  growing  more 
and  more  amazed.  "So  do  I  hope  he  is  safe 
at  home,  and  if  he  got  within  a  hundred  miles 
of  Springfield  I  reckon  he  is.  The  country  is 
full  of  Federal  cavalry,  and  how  your  squad 
came  through  without  being  molested  is  more 
than  I  can  understand.  You  wall  find  the 
colonel  in  this  tent,  captain,"  said  he,  dis- 
mounting and  drawing  some  papers  from  his 


332  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

X)ocket.  "I  must  rej^ort  too,  for  I  have  been 
on  an  errand  for  liim.  I'll  be  out  in  a  minute, 
Kodney." 

Dick  followed  the  captain  into  the  colonel's 
tent,  and  R-odney  sat  on  his  horse  and  looked 
around  while  he  awaited  his  return.  He 
thought  of  what  the  captain  had  said  regard- 
ing the  Continentals  at  Valley  Forge,  but  did 
not  see  that  there  could  be  any  comparison 
drawn  between  the  two  armies.  Price's  men 
seemed  to  be  well  clothed,  provisions  were 
plenty,  and  as  for  their  arms,  they  had  an 
abundance  of  them  such  as  they  were,  and  a 
charging  enemy  would  find  their  double-barrel 
shotguns  bad  things  to  face  at  close  quarters. 
But  a  few  months  later  the  comparison  was 
a  good  one.  During  the  "little  Moscow 
retreat,"  after  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge  (which 
Van  Dorn's  ambition  led  him  to  fight  contrary 
to  orders),  along  a  route  where  there  were 
neither  roads  nor  bridges,  through  a  region 
from  which  the  inhabitants  had  all  fled,  leav- 
ing the  country  "so  poor  that  a  turkey  buz- 
zard would  not  fly  over  it,"  with  no  train  of 
wagons,  or  provisions  to  put  in  them  if  there 


^'hurrah  for  bull  run!"  333 

had  been,  and  no  tents  to  shelter  them  from 
the  cold,  biting  winds  and  sleet  and  snow — 
when  Rodney  Gray  found  himself  and  com- 
panions in  this  situation  he  thought  of  the 
Continentals,  and  wondered  at  the  patriotism 
that  kej)t  them  in  the  ranks.  But  it  wasn't 
patriotism  that  kejpt  Price's  men  together.  It 
vi2isfear  and  nothing  else. 

Bnt  this  dark  picture  w^as  hidden  from  Rod- 
ney's view  as  he  sat  there  on  his  horse  waiting 
for  his  friend  Dick  Graham  to  come  out  of  the 
colonel' s  tent.  The  martial  scenes  around 
him,  the  military  order  that  everywhere  pre- 
vailed, the  companies  and  regiments  drilling 
in  the  fields  close  by,  the  inspiriting  music 
that  came  to  his  ears — these  sights  and  sounds 
tilled  him  with  enthusiasm  ;  and  if  any  one 
had  told  him  that  the  time  would  come  when 
he  would  think  seriously  of  deserting  the 
army  and  turning  his  back  upon  the  cause  he 
had  espoused,  Rodney  Gray  would  have  been 
thunder  struck.     But  the  time  came. 


CHAPTER  XY. 

A  FULL-FLEDGED  PAETISAT^. 

HAYI]N"G  transacted  liis  business  with 
the  colonel,  Dick  Graham  came  out  of 
the  tent  and  mounted  his  horse. 

"Of  course  I  had  to  wait  until  the  captain 
had  made  his  report,"  said  he,  in  a  suppressed 
whisper,  "and  in  that  way  I  happened  to  hear 
a  little  about  yourself  and  Tom  Barton.  I 
knew  enough  to  keep  still  in  the  presence  of 
my  superiors,  but  I  did  want  to  ask  the  cap- 
tain to  say  more  about  Tom  Barton.  Was  it 
Percival?" 

Rodney  winked  first  one  eye  and  then  the 
other  and  Dick  was  answered. 

"It's  the  strangest  thing  I  ever  heard  of, 
and  I  am  in  a  hurry  to  know  all  about  it. 
Come  on  ;  our  company  is  up  at  the  end  of 
the  street.  We  occupy  the  post  of  honor  on 
the  right  of  the  line,  because  we  are  the  only 
company  in  the    regiment  that   is  fully  uni- 

334 


A   FULL-FLEDGED   PARTISAN.  335 

formed.  We'll  leave  our  horses  at  the  stable 
line,  and  Captain  Jones  will  make  a  State 
Guard  of  you  before  you  know  it." 

Not  to   dwell  too  long  upon  matters   that 
have  little  bearing  upon  our  story,  it  will  be 
enough  to    say  that   Rodney   was    duly  pre- 
sented to  Captain  Jones,   who  was  informed 
that  he  had  come  all  the  way  from  Louisiana 
to  join  a  partisan  company.     He  was  a  Bar- 
rington  boy,  well  up  in  military  matters,  and 
desired  to  be  sworn  into  the  State  service  with- 
out the  loss  of  time.     Dick  was  careful  not  to 
say  too  much  for  fear  that  he  should  let  out 
some  secrets  that    Rodney  had   not  yet  had 
opportunity  to  tell  him.     Of  course  the  cap- 
tain was  delighted  to  see  the  recruit  from  Lou- 
isiana, shook  him  by  the  hand  as  if  he  had 
been  a  younger  brother,  and  sent  for  an  officer 
to  take  his  descriptive  list.     He  was  not  re- 
quired to  pass  the  surgeon,  and  the  oath  he 
took  was   to   the   effect   that  he  would  obey 
Governor    Jackson   and    nobody    else.      This 
being  done  Dick  took    him  off  to  introduce 
him  to  the  members  of  his  mess. 

^' But  before  I  do  that,"  said  Dick,  halting 


336  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 


just  outside  the  captain's  tent  and  drawing 
Kodney  off  on  one  side,  "  I  want  to  know  just 
where  you  stand,  and  whether  or  not  you  ha\  e 
had  any  reason  to  change  your  x>olitics  since  I 
last  saw  you.  Are  you  as  good  a  rebel  as  you 
used  to  be  ?" 

"  I  never  was  a  rebel,"  exclaimed  Eodney, 
with  some  heat.  '^  I  am  ready  to  fight  for  my 
State  at  any  time  ;  but  I  deny  the  right  of  my 
Governor  to  compel  me  to  obey  such  a  man  as 
General  Lacey.  I  didn't  want  to  be  sworn 
into  the  Confederate  army,  and  that  was  what 
sent  me  up  here." 

*' That's  all  right,"  replied  Dick.  'Tm 
glad  things  turned  out  that  way  ;  otherwise 
you  wouldn't  be  in  mj^  company  now.  But 
you  don' t  seem  to  be  as  red-hot  as  you  used 
to  be.  You  say  you  don't  believe  in  burning 
out  Union  men." 

"I  certainly  do  not.  I  believe  in  fighting 
the  men,  but  not  in  abusing  the  women  and 
children." 

''  The  Union  women  are  like  our  own— worse 
than  the  men,"  answered  Dick.  "That  is 
what  I  was  trying  to  get  at,  and  I  must  warn 


A   FULL-FLEDGED   PARTISAN.  337 

you  to  be  careful  liow  you  talk  to  anybody 
but  me  ;  and  I,  being  an  officer  of  the  State 
Guard,  can't  stand  too  mucli  treasonable  non- 
sense," he  added,  drawing  himself  up  to  his 
full  height  and  scowling  fiercely  at  his  friend. 

"I  suppose  not ;  but  I  don't  see  that  there 
is  anything  treasonable  in  my  saying  that  I 
don't  believe  in  making  war  upon  those  who 
cannot  defend  themselves." 

''If  some  of  those  defenseless  persons  had 
been  the  means  of  getting  you  bushwhacked 
and  your  buildings  destroyed,  you  might 
think  differently.  But  come  on,  and  I  will 
make  you  acquainted  with  some  of  the  best 
among  the  boys." 

There  were  only  two  "boys"  in  the  tent 
into  which  he  was  conducted,  and  they  were 
almost  old  enough  to  be  gray-headed  ;  and  as 
they  were  getting  ready  to  go  on  post,  Rodney 
had  little  more  than  time  to  say  he  was  glad 
to  know  them.  Then  Dick  said  he  had  some 
waiting  to  do  for  the  captain  that  would  keep 
him  busy  for  half  an  hour,  and  in  the  mean- 
time Rodney  would  have  to  look  out  for  him- 
self. 


338  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

"Here's  a  late  copy  of  the  Blclimond 
Whig,  if  you  would  like  to  see  it,"  said  one 
of  his  new  messmates,  who  having  thrown  a 
powder  horn  and  bullet  pouch  over  his 
shoulder,  stood  holding  a  long  squirrel  riile  in 
one  hand  while  he  extended  the  paper  with 
the  other.  "  There's  an  editorial  on  the  inside 
that  may  interest  you.  If  the  man  who  wrote 
it  had  been  trying  to  express  the  sentiments 
of  this  mess  he  could  not  have  come  nearer  to 
them.     Good -by  for  a  couple  of  hours." 

When  he  was  left  alone  in  the  tent  Kodney 
hunted  ui3  the  editorial  in  question  and  read 
as  follows  : 

' '  We  are  not  enough  in  the  secrets  of  our 
authorities  to  specify  the  day  on  which  Jeff 
Davis  will  dine  at  the  White  House,  and  Ben 
McCulloch  take  his  siesta  in  General  Siegel's 
gilded  tent.  We  should  dislike  to  x^roduce 
any  disappointment  by  naming  too  soon  or  too 
early  a  day ;  but  it  will  save  trouble  if  the 
gentlemen  will  keep  themselves  in  readiness  to 
dislodge  at  a  moment's  notice.  If  they  are 
not  smitten,  however,  with  more  than  judicial 
blindness,  they  do  not  need  this  warning  at 
our  hands.     They  must  know  that  the  measure 


A   FULL-FLEDGED   PARTISAN.  339 

of  their  iniquities  is  full,  and  the  patience  of 
outraged  freedom  is  exhausted.  Among  all 
the  brave  men  from  the  Rio  Grande  to  the 
Potomac,  and  stretching  over  into  insulted, 
indignant  and  infuriated  Maryland,  there  is 
but  one  word  on  every  lip — '  Washington'' ; 
and  one  sentiment  in  every  heart — vengeance 
on  the  tyrants  who  pollute  the  capital  of  the 
Republic  !  " 

The  paper  was  full  of  such  idle  vaporings  as 
these,  but  they  fired  Rodney  Gray's  Southern 
heart  to  such  an  extent  that  he  was  almost 
ready  to  quarrel  with  Dick  Graham  when  the 
latter  came  into  the  tent  an  hour  later,  and 
began  discussing  the  situation  in  his  cool, 
level-headed  w^ay. 

"Yes;  I  have  seen  the  article,"  said  he, 
when  Rodney  asked  him  what  he  thought  of 
it,  "  and  it  is  nothing  but  the  veriest  bosh." 

'*  Dick  Graham,  how  dare  you  ?  "  exclaimed 
Rodney. 

"  Oh,  I  have  heard  such  talk  as  that  before, 
and  right  here  in  this  tent  from  boys  who 
have  known  me  ever  since  I  was  knee-high  to 
a  duck,  "  replied  Dick.  "  'The  tyrants  who 
pollute  the  capital  of  the  Republic  ! '      The 


340  KODKEY,  THE   PARTISAN". 


J 


men  who  are  there,  are  there  because  they 
got  the  most  votes ;  and  in  this  country  the 
majority  rules.  That's  me.  Now  mark  what 
I  tell  you  :  The  majority  of  the  people  will  say 
that  this  Union  shall  not  be  broken  up." 

' '  Then  you  believe  that  might  makes  right, 
do  you  ? " 

*' I  don't  know  whether  I  do  or  not.  If  we 
have  the  power,  we  have  the  right  to  rise  up 
and  shake  off  the  existing  form  of  government 
and  form  one  that  will  suit  us  better.  Abe 
Lincoln  said  so  in  one  of  his  speeches,  and 
that's  his  language  almost  word  for  word. 
But  whether  the  Northern  peojple,  having  the 
power,  have  the  right  to  make  us  stay  in  the 
Union  when  we  don't  want  to,  is  a  question 
that  is  a  little  too  deep  for  me." 

''They  have  neither  the  iDower  nor  the 
right,"  said  Rodney  angrily.  "But  you 
always  were  as  obstinate  as  a  mule,  and  we 
can't  agree  if  we  talk  till  doomsday.  Now 
listen  while  I  tell  you  what  I  have  been 
through  since  I  said  good-by  to  you  in  the 
Barrington  depot." 

To  repeat  what  he  said  would  be  to  write  a 


o 


A   FULL-FLEDGED   PAKTISAN.  341 

good  portion  of  this  book  over  again.  He  told 
the  story  pretty  nearly  as  we  have  tried  to  tell 
it,  with  this  difference :  He  touched  very 
lightly  upon  the  courage  he  had  displayed  and 
the  risk  he  had  run  in  helping  Tom  Percival 
out  of  the  corn-crib  in  the  wood-cutters'  camp, 
although  he  was  loud  in  his  praises  of  Tom's 
coolness  and  bravery.  Dick  Graham  found  it 
hard  to  believe  some  parts  of  the  narrative. 

"So  Tom  wasn't  satisfied  with  risking  his 
neck  by  going  to  St.  Louis  to  see  Lyon,  but 
had  to  come  back  through  Iron  and  St.  Francois 
counties  and  try  to  raise  another  company  of 
Home  Guards  there.  He's  either  all  pluck  or 
else  plum  crazy." 

"  He's  got  a  straight  head  on  his  shoulders  ; 
I'll  bear  witness  to  that,"  replied  Rodney. 
''What  do  you  suppose  he  will  do  at  home? 
Where' s  his  company  ? ' ' 

"  When  the  hunter  blows  his  horn  his 
X)uppies  will  howl,"  answered  Dick.  "His 
men  are  scattered  here  and  there  and  every- 
where ;  but  he  knows  where  to  find  them,  and 
if  we  ever  meet  those  troops  that  are  concen- 
trating at  Springfield,  we'll  meet  Tom  Percival. 


342  rodj^ey,  the  partisan. 

You  did  a  neighborly  act  when  you  shoved 
him  your  revolver.  I  wouldn't  have  given 
much  for  you  if  that  man — what's  his  name  ? — 
AVestall  had  found  it  out.  Those  Emergency 
men  are  nothing  but  robbers  and  murderers." 

''  That  was  about  the  idea  I  formed  of  them, 
and  I  say  they  ought  to  be  put  down  if  this 
war  is  going  to  be  conducted  on  civilized 
X)rinciples.  Where  were  you  when  Lyon  cap- 
tured that  camp  at  St.  Louis  ?  " 

''I  was  getting  ready  to  go  to  Booneville.  I 
was  in  that  scrimmage  and  have  smelled 
powder  on  half-a-dozen  occasions." 

"  Was  that  a  Secession  camp  or  not  ? " 

''Not  as  anybody  knows  of,"  replied  Dick. 
"  It  was  composed  of  the  State  militia  which 
the  Governor  had  ordered  out  for  drill.  Under 
the  law  he  had  a  right  to  call  them  out." 

"  JSTow  what's  the  use  of  your  trying  any 
of  your  jokes  on  me?"  demanded  E-odney. 
"You  don't  believe  a  word  you  have  said,  and 
I  know  it.  Be  honest  now,  and  have  done 
with  your  nonsense." 

"Well,  General  Frost,  who  commanded  the 
camp,  assured  Captain  Lyon  that  he  was  not 


A   FULL-FLEDGED   PARTISAN.  343 

hostile  to  the  government,"  answered  Dick. 
"  But  when  Lyon  got  hold  of  it,  he  found  that 
the  two  main  streets  were  named  Davis  and 
Beauregard  ;  that  a  good  portion  of  the  men 
were  in  rebel  uniform  ;  and  that  they  were 
mostly  armed  with  government  muskets  which 
you  Louisiana  fellows  stole  out  of  the  Baton 
Rouge  arsenal.  Lyon's  action  in  that  matter 
was  what  caused  the  riots.  I'll  say  one  thing 
in  your  private  ear :  The  old  flag  floats  over 
St.  Louis  and  it's  going  to  stay  there." 

"I'm  not  going  to  get  into  any  argument 
with  you,  but  you  wdll  see  that  you  are  wrong. 
We  must  have  that  city  in  order  to  command 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Gulf.  Wasn'  t  Jackson's 
proposition  and  Price's,  that  the  State  should 
remain  neutral,  a  fair  one  1 " 

"  That's  a  question  that  will  be  settled  when 
this  war  is  over,  and  not  before." 

"  How  do  you  make  that  out  ?  " 

"  If  there  is  such  a  thing  as  State  Rights,  it 
was  a  fair  proposition  ;  if  there  isn't,  it  wasn't. 
It  implies  the  right  of  a  State  to  make  terms 
with  the  government ;  and  that  is  the  very 
point  we  are  wrangling  over.     There's  but  one 


344  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

way  to  decide  it,  and  that  is  by  force  of 
arms." 

' '  Do  you  still  tliink  we  are  going  to  be 
whipped  ? ' ' 

"I  am  sure  of  it." 

''And  if  we  are,  will  you  give  up  the  doc- 
trine of  State  Rights  1" 

'Til  have  to.  I  can't  do  anything  else. 
But  such  talk  will  lead  us  into  argument,  and 
you  say  you  don't  want  to  argue.  I  have  been 
in  a  fever  of  suspense  ever  since  you  sent  that 
second  telegram  to  my  father  in  St.  Louis.  In 
it  you  said,  in  effect,  that  you  would  start  up 
the  river  on  the  first  boat ;  and  father  wrote 
me  that  when  he  got  it,  he  was  ready  to 
dance." 

"  With  delight  ?  "  asked  Rodney. 

"Not  much.  With  apprehension.  He  suj)- 
posed  you  were  coming  up  with  your  whole 
company.  You  asked  him,  for  the  company, 
if  Price  would  accept  you,  and  he  met  Price 
on  the  street  and  showed  him  the  dispatch. 
Price  said  he  would  be  glad  to  do  it ;  and 
when  you  sent  word  that  you  were  coming, 
father  thought,  of  course,  that  you  were  all 


A   FULL-FLEDGED   PARTISAN.  345 

coming,  and  he  knew  that  if  you  did,  Lyon 
would  make  prisoners  of  the  last  one  of  you 
the  moment  you  touched  the  levee." 

*'  Your  father  didn't  give  us  credit  for  much 
sense,  did  he  ? "  said  Rodney,  with  some  dis- 
gust in  his  tones.  "  The  boys  wouldn't  come 
and  so  I  had  to  come  alone.  I  hope  that 
second  dispatch  did  not  put  your  father  to 
any  trouble,  but  I  was  obliged  to  send  it  to 
throw  those  telegraph  operators  off  my  track 
and  blind  them  to  my  real  intentions.  I  su^d- 
pose  that  St.  Louis  cotton-factor  was  on  the 
watch  ? " 

"Of  course;  and  the  minute  he  put  his 
eyes  on  that  roan  colt,  he  would  have  pointed 
you  and  him  out  to  the  soldiers.  Your  second 
dispatch  frightened  father,  but  it  did  not  put 
him  to  any  trouble.  About  that  time  he 
received  a  hint  that  he  was  being  watched, 
that  he  was  believed  to  be  hanging  about  the 
city  for  the  i)urpose  of  picking  u})  information 
that  would  do  us  rebels  some  good,  and  so  he 
dug  out.  He's  at  home  now  ;  and  if  we  get  a 
chance,  we'll  ride  down  there  some  dark  night. 
I  should  like  to  have  you  acquainted.' 


55 


346  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

"  Thank  you.  I'll  go  any  time  you  say  the 
word  ;  but  why  do  you  persist  in  speaking  of 
our  side  as  '  rebels  '  ?  I  say  we  are  not.  We 
simply  desire  to  resume  the  powers  which  our 
forefathers  were  foolish  enough  to  delegate  to 
the  general  government.  Why,  the  great 
State  of  New  York,  in  adopting  the  Federal 
Constitution,  reserved  the  right  to  withdraw 
from  the  Union  in  case  things  were  not  run  to 
suit  her." 

"Yes;  but  the  great  State  of  New  York 
isn't  foolish  enough  to  try  any  such  game  as 
that.  She'd  be  whipjDed  so  quick  that  it 
would  make  her  head  swim  ;  and  that's  just 
what  is  going  to  happen  to  South  Carolina. 
But  you  always  was  as  obstinate  as  a  mule, 
and  I  don't  care  to  get  into  any  argument 
Avith  you." 

Rodney  Gray  was  now  a  full-fledged  parti- 
san ;  but  the  company  to  which  he  was  at- 
tached Avas  more  like  mounted  infantry  than 
cavalry,  for  with  the  exception  of  the  com- 
missioned officers,  there  was  scarcely  one 
among  the  men  who  was  provided  with  a 
saber.     The  most  of  Price's  men  were  armed 


A   FULL-FLEDGED   PARTISAN.  347 

with  shotguns  and  hunting  rifles,  and  in  some 
respects  were  superior  to  cavalry.  They  could 
move  rapidly,  fight  as  infantry,  and  if  worsted 
in  the  engagement,  jump  on  their  horses  and 
make  a  quick  retreat.  Their  uniform  was 
cadet  gray  with  light  blue  slashings,  and  so 
nearly  like  the  one  that  had  been  worn  by  the 
Barrington  students,  that  all  Dick  Graham 
had  to  do  to  pass  muster  on  dress  parade  was 
to  add  a  sergeant's  clievrons  to  the  old  uniform 
he  had  worn  at  school.  Rodney  Gray  w^as  an 
"odd  sheep  in  the  flock,"  but  Dick  had  two 
suits  of  clothes,  one  of  which  his  friend  Rod- 
ney always  wore  w^hen  he  was  on  duty,  for 
Captain  Jones  w^as  somewhat  particular,  and 
wanted  his  men  to  appear  well  on  post  and 
when  they  were  ordered  out  for  drill.  The 
mail-carrier  who  took  Rodney's  first  letter  to 
his  father  from  the  camp,  took  also  an  order 
for  a  full  outfit  which  w^as  addressed  to  a 
merchant  tailor  in  Little  Rock.  Being  shut 
off  from  St.  Louis  by  Lyon's  advancing  troops, 
all  the  mail,  wdth  the  exception  of  some  secret 
correspondence  which  w^as  kept  up  during 
the  whole  of  the  war,  w^as  sent  by  courier  to 


348  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

Little  Kock  and  New  Madrid,  and  from  these 
places  forwarded  to  its  destination  in  tlie 
South. 

Eodney  Gray  arrived  at  Price's  camp  during 
the  latter  part  of  June  ;  and  almost  immedi- 
ately became   aware   that    preparations   were 
being  made  for  an  event  of  some  importance. 
There  was  much  scouting  going  on,  although 
he  and  Dick  took  no  part  in  it,  much  to  their 
regret,  and  now  and  then  there  was  a  skirmish 
reported.     The  junction  of  Price's  forces  with 
those  of  Jackson  and  Rains,  which  Siegel  hoped 
to  prevent  by  a  rapid  march  upon  Neosho, 
took  place  at  Carthage,  as  we  have  said ;  but 
in  spite  of  this  Siegel  resolved  to  attack.     He 
left  Neosho  on  the  4th  of   July,  and  on  the 
6th,  fought  the  battle  of  Carthage  against  a 
greatly    superior    force.     Rodney's    regiment 
was  in  the  thickest  of  it.     It  tried  to  outflank 
Siegel  in   order  to  seize  his  wagon  train,  but 
could  not  stand  against  the  terrible  cross-fire 
of  the  Union    artillery,  which    mowed   them 
down    like    blades    of  grass.     The  first  man 
killed  in  Rodney's  company  was  the  one  who 
had  given  him  that  copy  of  the  Richmond 


o 


A   FULL-FLEDGED   PAETISAN.  849 

WJilg.  While  charging  at  Eodney's  side  he 
was  struck  in  the  breast  by  a  piece  of  shell, 
and  in  falling  almost  knocked  the  Barrington 
boy  out  of  his  saddle.  There  was  no  time  to 
be  frightened  or  to  think  of  lending  a  helping 
hand  to  his  injured  comrade,  for  the  line  in 
the  rear  was  coming  on,  yelling  like  mad,  and 
anything  that  opposed  its  progress  would  have 
been  run  down ;  anything,  perhaps,  except 
that  well-managed  battery  on  their  right, 
whose  steady,  merciless  fire  was  more  than 
living  men  could  endure.  They  broke  and 
fled,  and  were  not  called  into  action  again  that 
day  ;  for  when  Siegel,  finding  that  he  could  not 
take  the  town,  withdrew  from  the  field  for  the 
purpose  of  effecting  a  junction  with  another 
Union  force  stationed  at  Mount  Vernon,  mid- 
way between  Carthage  and  Springfield,  the 
road  he  followed  led  through  thick  woods  in 
which  mounted  troops  could  not  operate. 
Here  the  Union  commander,  aided  by  his 
superior  artillery  and  long  range  rifles,  held 
his  own  until  darkness  came  on  and  the  Con- 
federates retreated.  It  was  a  draAvn  battle. 
The    Confederates    did    not  dare    renew    the 


350  KODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


attack,  and  Siegel  was  afraid  to  hold  tlie  field 
long  enough  to  give  his  weary  troops  a  chance 
to  rest.  He  marched  all  night  and  reached  his 
destination  the  next  day. 

A¥hen  the  orderly  sergeant  of  Rodney's 
company  came  to  make  out  his  report,  he 
found  that  there  were  six  men  missing  out  of 
seventy-three.  One  out  of  twelve  was  not  a 
severe  loss  for  an  hour's  fight  (when  Pickett's 
five  thousand  made  their  useless  charge  at 
Gettysburg  they  lost  seven  men  out  of  every 
nine),  but  it  was  enough  to  show  Rodney  that 
there  was  a  dread  reality  in  war.  He  told 
Dick  Graham  that  as  long  as  he  lived  he 
Avould  never  forget  the  expression  that  came 
upon  the  face  of  the  comrade  avIio  fell  at  his 
side,  the  first  man  he  had  ever  seen  killed.  He 
did  not  want  to  go  to  sleep  that  night,  for  fear 
that  he  Avould  see  that  face  again  in  his  dreams. 

' '  They  say  a  fellow  gets  over  feeling  so  after 
awhile,"  was  the  way  in  wdiich  Dick  sought 
to  comfort  and  encourage  him.  "  But  I'll  tell 
you  what's  a  fact :  I  don't  believe  that  a  man 
in  full  possession  of  his  senses  can  ever  go  into 
action  without  being  afraid." 


A   FULL-FLEDGED   PARTISAN.  *  351 

General  Lj^on's  advance  troops  having  been 
forced  to  retreat,  the  boys  began  to  wonder 
what  was  to  be  the  next  thing  on  the  pro- 
gramme, and  it  was  not  long  before  they  found 
out.  N'otwithstanding  the  confident  predic- 
tion of  the  captain  who  commanded  the  scout- 
ing party  that  had  rescued  him  from  the 
power  of  the  Union  men  at  Truman's  house 
(that  fifteen  thousand  Confederates  would  be 
enough  to  meet  and  whip  the  twenty  thousand 
Federals  that  Lyon  was  supposed  to  be  con- 
centrating at  Springfield),  Price  began  falling 
back  toward  Cassville,  striving  as  he  went  to 
increase  his  force  by  fair  means  or  foul.  His 
mounted  troopers  carried  things  with  a  high 
hand.  If  a  citizen,  listening  to  their  patriotic 
appeals,  shouldered  his  gun,  mounted  his 
horse  and  went  with  them,  he  was  a  good  fel- 
low, a  brave  man,  and  his  property  was  safe ; 
but  if  he  showed  the  least  reluctance  about 
"  falling  in,"  he  was  at  once  accused  of  being 
a  Union  man  and  treated  accordingly.  Price 
wanted  fifty  thousand  men  ;  but,  as  he  after- 
ward told  the  people  of  Missouri,  less  than 
five  thousand,  out  of  a  male  population  of 


352  *      RODNEY,    THE   PARTISAN. 


more  than  two  liundred  thousand,  responded 
to  his  calls  for  help.  It  may  or  may  not  be  a 
fact  that  that  small  number  comprised  all  the 
men  that  were  sworn  into  the  State  service ; 
but  it  is  a  fact  that  he  commanded  more  than 
eight  thousand  men  at  the  battle  of  Carthage, 
and  more  than  twenty  thousand  at  the  siege  of 
Lexington.  Price's  object  in  falling  back 
toward  Cassville  was  to  meet  McCulloch  with 
his  seven  thousand  four  liundred  men  who 
were  coming  up  from  Arkansas  to  reinforce 
him,  and  to  draw  Lyon  as  far  as  possible  from 
his  base  of  supplies.  These  forces  met  at 
Crane  Creek,  and  almost  immediately  there 
began  a  conflict  of  authority  between  Price 
and  McCulloch,  the  former  urging  and  the 
latter  opposing  an  attack  upon  the  Union 
troops  at  Springfield.  The  dispute  was  finally 
settled  by  General  Polk,  who  sent  an  order  all 
the  way  from  Columbus,  Kentucky,  command- 
ing McCulloch  to  advance  at  once.  Observe 
that  he  did  not  include  Price  in  the  order,  for 
at  this  period  of  the  war  the  Confederate 
authorities  respected  State  Eights  after  a 
fashion  of  their  own  (they  did  not  even  re- 


A  FULL-FLEDGED   PARTISAN.  353 

move  their  capital  from  Montgomery  to  Rich- 
mond until  Virginia  had  given  them  her 
gracious  permission  to  do  so),  and  gave  no 
signs  of  a  leaning  toward  the  despotism  which 
they  established  in  less  than  twelve  months. 

Meanwhile  General  Lyon,  w^hose  position 
was  one  of  the  greatest  danger,  could  not  wait 
to  be  attacked.  He  had  weakened  his  army 
by  garrisoning  all  the  places  he  seized  during 
his  advance  and  now  he  had  only  seven  thou- 
sand troops  left.  Even  this  small  force  was 
rapidly  growing  less,  for  as  fast  as  their  terms 
of  enlistment  expired,  they  were  permitted  to 
return  to  their  homes  ;  provisions  were  getting 
scarce ;  and  General  Fremont,  who  had  lately 
assumed  command  of  the  Western  Depart- 
ment, could  not  send  him  any  reinforcements 
from  St.  Louis.  So  the  only  thing  the  Union 
commander  could  do  to  stojD  the  Confederate 
advance  and  extricate  himself  from  the  dan- 
gers with  which  he  was  surrounded,  was  to 
assume  the  offensive. 

The  historian  tells  us  that  there  was  some- 
thing sublime  in  that  bold  march  of  Lyon  on 
the  night  of  the  9  th  of  August,  with  a  force  of 


354  RODNEY,    THE  PAKTISAIs^. 


five  thousand  men,  to  Wilson's  Creek,  to  meet 
in  the  morning  an  army  numbering  anywhere 
between  fifteen  and  twenty  thousand.  His 
only  hope  of  success  lay  in  a  surprise  ;  but 
there  was  where  he  was  disappointed,  for  it 
so  happened  that  at  the  time  he  made  his 
advance,  the  enemy  was  making  preparations 
to  attack  him  on  four  sides  at  once ;  but  while 
they  were  thinking  about  it,  they  were  assailed 
by  two  columns,  one  in  front  and  the  other  on 
the  fiank.  This  brought  about  the  battle  of 
Wilson's  Creek,  which,  next  to  Bull  Run,  was 
the  severest  engagement  of  the  year.  General 
Lyon  was  killed  Avhile  leading  a  bayonet 
charge  at  the  head  of  an  Iowa  regiment.  Major 
Sturgis,  on  whom  the  command  devolved, 
ordered  a  retreat  after  six  hours  of  useless 
fighting,  and  the  Confederates  were  too  badly 
cut  up  to  prevent  his  leisurely  withdrawal. 
Bat,  after  all,  that  battle  w^as  a  Union  victory, 
for  it  "interposed  a  check  against  the  com- 
bined armies  of  the  Confederacy  from  which 
they  could   not  readily  recover."      This   one 


5  5 


fight    ta'Ught  the   "dashing    Texan  Ranger 
McCulloch  that  there  was  a  bit  of  difference 


A    FULL-FLEDGED   PAKTISAIT.  355 

between  meeting  a  sterling  Union  soldier  like 
Lyon,  and  a  traitor  like  Twiggs  who  would 
surrender  on  demand,  and  a  short  time  after- 
ward he  withdrew  into  Arkansas,  leaving 
Price  to  continue  the  campaign,  or  disband 
his  State  troops  and  go  home,  just  as  he 
pleased.  At  least  that  is  what  history  says 
about  it ;  but  when  Rodney  and  Dick  asked 
their  captain  why  it  was  that  the  two  armies 
separated  after  going  to  so  much  trouble  to  get 
together,  the  reason  given  was  : 

''  We're  waiting  for  orders  from  the  War 
Department  at  Richmond.  It  will  take  a  good 
while  for  them  to  get  here,  and  in  the  mean- 
time we  don't  want  to  impoverish  the  country. 
Price  will  stay  here  to  watch  the  enemy,  wdio 
have  retreated  toward  Roll  a,  wdiich  is  a  hun- 
dred miles  from  here,  and  McCulloch  will  go 
into  Arkansas  to  recruit  his  army.  When  the 
orders  arrive  we  shall  know  what  we  are  going 
to  do  next." 

Of  course  it  goes  without  saying  that  Rod- 
ney and  Dick  did  soldiers'  duty  during  the 
fight  at  Wilson's  Creek  and  in  the  subsequent 
movements  of  Price's  troops,  which  resulted  in 


356  EODNEY,    THE  PAllTISAN. 

tlie  siege  and  capture  of  Lexington  ;  but  tliey 
did  not  see  Tom  Percival  or  hear  of  him,  nor 
did  they  find  opportunity  to  visit  Dick  Gra- 
ham's  home. 

While  General  Fremont  was  fortifying  St. 
Louis  so  that  he  could  hold  it  with  a  small 
force,  and  use  the  greater  portion  of  his  army 
in  the  movements  he  was  planning  against 
Price,  the  latter  heard  a  piece  of  news  that 
sent  him  Northward  by  rapid  marches. 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

THE   CONSCRIPTION    ACT. 

PEICE'S  men  had  not  been  long  on  the 
march  before  Dick  Graham,  who  seemed 
to  have  a  way  of  finding  out  things  that  were 
hidden  from  almost  everybody  else,  told  Rod- 
ney, confidentially,  that  their  objective  point 
was  Warrensburg,  and  that  Price's  motive  in 
going  there  was  to  capture  money  to  the 
amount  of  a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  which 
was  being  conveyed  by  a  detachment  of 
Federal  troops  to  Lexington.  The  prosj)ect  of 
securing  so  valuable  a  prize  was  an  incentive, 
and  men  who  were  so  weary  that  the  near 
ax)proach  of  an  enemy  would  not  have  kept 
them  from  falling  out  of  the  ranks,  marched 
night  and  day  without  a  murmur  of  comjplaint. 
Some  of  the  way  they  moved  at  double-quick  ; 
but  they  might  as  well  have  spared  themselves 
the  pains,  for  when  they  reached  ^yarrens- 
burg  they  found  the  place  deserted. 

357 


858  EODNEY,    THE   PARTISAN". 

''This  sliows  how  impossible  it  is  to  trust 
aliybody  these  times,"  said  Rodney,  in  deep 
disgust. 

Their  regiment  having  gone  into  camp,  the 
two  friends  were  strolling  about  the  town  to 
see  what  they  could  find,  and  the  first  thing 
they  discovered  was  not  at  all  calculated  to 
allay  the  indignation  they  felt  at  being  out- 
witted by  the  vigilant  Federals.  It  was  a 
rough  charcoal  sketch  on  the  wall  of  a  build- 
ing they  passed  during  their  walk.  It  repre- 
sented a  lean,  long-haired,  ragged  rebel  danc- 
ing in  an  ecstacy  of  rage  over  an  empty 
money-box.  The  soldier  who  drew  the  sketch 
was  an  artist  of  no  mean  order,  and  the  picture 
told  its  story  as  plainly  as  words. 

"It  proves  that  the  Yankees  knew  we  were 
coming  and  what  we  were  coming  for,"  con- 
tinued Rodney.  "It's  an  insult,  and  I  hope 
we  will  not  go  back  until  we  have  thrashed 
them  for  it  most  soundly." 

The  army  rested  for  two  days  at  Warrens- 
burg,  and  then  moved  upon  Lexington, 
whither  the  money  had  been  conveyed  ;  but 
Rodney  and  Dick  had  no  hopes  of  wearing  the 


THE   CONSCRIPTION  ACT.  359 

new  uniforms  and  wrapping  themselves  in  the 
warm  blankets  that  their  share  of  the  hundred 
thousand  would  i)urchase  for  them,  if  they 
had  it.  They  were  afraid  they  wouldn't  get 
any  of  it,  and  this  fear  was  confirmed  when 
their  advance  guard  was  severely  repulsed  by 
less  than  half  a  regiment  of  Home  Guards  who 
w^ere  found  strongly  entrenched  at  Lexington. 
The  attack,  which  w^as  renewed  on  the  12th  of 
Sei^tember,  after  Colonel  Mulligan  arrived  wdth 
his  Irish  brigade,  bringing  the  strength  of  the 
garrison  up  to  twenty-five  hundred  men,  w^as 
even  more  disastrous  than  the  first,  and  Price 
retired  to  wait  until  his  suxDplies  of  ammuni- 
tion could  be  brought  u^.  He  waited  six 
days,  and  during  that  time  not  a  soldier  Avas 
thrown  into  the  garrison,  while  Price  saw  his 
own  army  growing  daily.  Every  man  in  the 
country  for  miles  around,  and  every  boy,  too, 
who  was  strong  enough  to  handle  a  gun, 
'' rushed  to  Lexington  to  take  part  in  the 
victory  to  w^liich  Price  invited  them."  The 
few  Union  men  there  were  left  in  that  i^art  of 
the  State  came  with  the  rest,  because  it  was 
the  only  thing  they  could  do  to  save  them- 


360  KODNEY,  THE  PAETISATT. 


selves  and  their  property  from  the  vengeance  of 
the  rebels.  The  real  battle  began  on  the  18th, 
and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  20th,  after  fifty- 
two  hours  of  constant  fighting,  when  his 
ammunition  and  provisions  were  almost  ex- 
hausted and  his  supply  of  water  entirely  cut 
off,  the  brave  colonel,  who  afterward  died  on 
the  field  of  Winchester 

"  And  dying — '  Lay  me  down 
And  save  the  flag  ! '  he  cried," 

gave  ujD  the  struggle,  and  surrendered  a  Avorn- 
out  garrison  of  two  thousand  ^Ye  hundred 
men  to  an  army  of  more  than  twenty  thousand. 
It  was  a  grand  victory — almost  as  grand  as  the 
one  Beauregard  won  over  Anderson  at  Fort 
Sumter.  By  it  Price  secured  "a  great  number 
of  stands  of  arms,  a  considerable  quantity  of 
ammunition,  a  vast  amount  of  commissary 
stores,  and  nine  hundred  thousand  dollars  in 
hard  cash."  He  did  not  abuse  his  power  but 
paid  tribute  to  the  courage  of  the  men  who 
had  so  long  resisted  him  by  releasing  the 
soldiers  on  parole,  and  keeping  the  officers 
only  as  prisoners. 

Having  accomplished  his  object  and  rallied 


THE   CONSCRIPTION   ACT.  361 

to  his  standard  all  the  scattered  bands  of 
partisans  in  Northern  Missouri,  and  hearing 
that  Fremont  was  advancing  upon  him,  while 
Hardee,  who  was  to  support  him  by  moving 
up  the  river  from  New  Madrid,  had  been 
driven  back.  Price  turned  and  ran,  sending  his 
mounted  troopers  to  threaten  several  points  at 
once,  misleading  the  Federals  who  had  hastily 
assembled  to  harass  his  rear,  and  thus  secur- 
ing an  almost  unobstructed  road  for  his  retreat. 
These  advance  troopers  had  a  few  engage- 
ments, and  Rodney  and  Dick  took  part  in  the 
most  of  them,  but  Price  could  neither  be  over- 
taken nor  stopped.  The  two  friends  were 
among  the '  first  to  ride  into  Neosho,  a  little 
town  in  the  southwestern  pa'rt  of  the  State, 
toward  which  the  march  had  been  directed, 
and  the  first  man  they  met  gave  them  some 
information  that  struck  them  dumb  with  sur- 
prise and  indignation.  He  was  a  farmer  who 
had  just  sold  a  load  of  provisions  to  the 
soldiers,  and  he  drove  his  empty  wagon  out  of 
the  road  to  let  the  regiment  pass. 

"We're  into  the  mud  now  as  deep  as  the 
rest  of  'em,"   said  he,  as  Rodney's  company 


362  rod::^ey,  the  partisan. 

rode  by.  ''  If  Caroliny  gets  stretched  up  by 
tlie  neck,  we-uns  will  liave  to  be  stretched, 
too." 

''What  do  you  mean  by  that?"  inquired 
Captain  Jones. 

"  The Legislater  is  over  there  in  that  house," 
rei)lied  the  farmer,  "and  they've  just  give  out 
some  kind  of  a  pax)er  saying  that  this  State  of 
Missoury  don't  belong  to  the  old  Union  no 
more,  but  is  one  of  the  Confedrit  States  of 
Ameriky." 

"  Do  you  mean  that  the  State  has  seceded?" 
cried  the  captain,  while  his  men  looked  at  him 
and  at  one  another  as  if  they  could  not  under- 
stand what  the  farmer  was  trying  to  tell  them. 
"There's  cheek  for  you.  Why,  the  whole  of 
the  State,  except  this  part  of  it  right  around 
here,  is  over-run  with  Yankees." 

"  I  don't  know  nothing  about  that,"  replied 
the  farmer  ;  and  he  was  obliged  to  turn  around 
on  his  seat  and  shout  the  words,  for  Eodney's 
company  had  been  riding  straight  ahead  all 
the  time.  "It's  only  what  I  heard.  Mebbe 
you'll  find  somebody  up  the  street  that  can 
tell  you  all  about  it.' 


5> 


THE  CONSCRIPTION   ACT.  363 

The  story  was  so  improbable  that  the  boys 
could  not  make  up  their  minds  to  believe  it. 
The  Legislature,  which  had  run  almost  as  far 
as  it  could  get  without  going  over  the  line  into 
Arkansas,  had  no  authority  over  the  State, 
three-fourths  of  whose  territory  was  under  the 
control  of  the  Union  forces,  and  level-headed 
Dick  Graham  did  not  hesitate  to  say,  in  the 
presence  and  hearing  of  his  captain,  that  if 
the  Legislature  had  passed  an  Act  of  Secession, 
they  were  idiots,  the  last  one  of  them.  But 
the  Confederate  authorities  were  given  to 
doing  foolish  things.  Head  the  proclamation 
Jefferson  Davis  issued  from  Danville  while  he 
was  running  for  his  life  ! 

"If  that  is  true  we  are  in  a  pretty  fix,"  said 
Rodney,  as  soon  as  he  could  speak.  ''I  came 
up  here  to  keep  out  of  the  Confederate  army, 
and  now  I  am  made  a  Confederate  in  spite  of 
myself.  And  so  are  you.  You  are  under  con- 
trol of  the  government  at  Richmond  now,  and 
next  week  you  may  be  ordered  to  Virginia. " 

"But  I'll  not  go,"  exclaimed  Dick.  "I'll 
serve  right  where  I  am  until  my  time  is  out, 
and  then  I'll  go  home.     But  look  here.     The 


3G4  llODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


J 


Hiclimond  government  can't  order  me  out  of 
Missouri  without  violating  the  very  principle 
we  are  fighting  for — State  Rights.  They  can 
asli  me  to  go,  but  just  see  how  utterly  in- 
consistent they  will  be  if  they  try  to  compel 
me  to  go." 

*'I  hope  you  are  right,  but  I  wouldn't  be 
afraid  to  bet  anything  I've  got  that  you  are 
wrong,"  answered  Rodney;  and  his  friend's 
words  did  not  in  the  least  encourage  him. 
''That  would  be  the  right  way  to  do  things, 
but  you  ought  to  see  that  it  wouldn't  be  sensi- 
ble. What's  the  use  of  having  Confederate 
soldiers  if  they  are  not  to  obey  the  orders  of 
the  Confederate  government  \  If  it  suits  them 
to  do  it,  those  fellows  in  Richmond  will  ride 
rough-shod  over  State  Rights." 

"  Oh,  they  won't  do  that,"  exclaimed  Dick, 
waving  his  hands  up  and  down  in  the  air. 
*'  They  can't  do  it.  Their  government  Avill  fall 
to  pieces  like  a  rope  of  sand  if  they  try  it." 

The  boys  w^ondered  what  their  general  would 
think  of  the  situation,  and  Avhen  the  artillery 
came  into  town  they  found  out.  A  few  sections 
of  it  wheeled  into  line  at  a  gallop,  and  cele- 


THE   CONSCRIPTION  ACT.  365 

brated  tlie  secession  of  the  State  by  firing  one 
hundred  guns.  Rodney  and  Dick  were  in- 
tensely disgusted.  They  listened  in  a  half 
mutinous  way  when  the  adjutant  read  the  act 
the  next  day  on  dress  parade,  and  tossed  up 
their  caps  and  shouted  with  the  rest ;  but  they 
did  these  things  for  the  same  reasons  that 
impelled  hundreds  of  others  in  camp  to  do 
them— because  they  knew  it  would  not  be  safe 
to  show  any  lack  of  enthusiasm. 

The  fact  that  they  were  no  longer  State 
troops  but  full-fiedged  Confederates  Avas  not 
fully  impressed  upon  Rodney  and  his  fellow 
soldiers  until  some  months  later,  when  the 
Richmond  government  was  all  ready  to  put  its 
despotic  plans  into  execution.  Probably  the 
general  commanding  saw  that  there  was  much 
dissatisfaction  among  his  men,  and  did  not 
think  it  prudent  to  draw  the  reins  too  tight. 
He  drilled  his  troops  a  little  of  tener  and  a  little 
harder,  and  was  rather  more  particular  about 
granting  furloughs,  and  this  gave  the  boys  no 
ground  for  complaint ;  but  they  were  con- 
stantly harassed  by  the  fear  that  the  future 
had  something  ominous  in  store  for  them. 


366  EODXEY,  THE   PAKTISAN. 

Price  retreated  as  Fremont  advanced,  and  a 
second  battle  was  fought  at  Wilson's  Creek, 
during  which  the  commander  of  the  Union 
forces  made  a  cavalrj^  charge  that  is  still 
spoken  of  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  episodes 
of  the  war.  But  when  Fremont  was  displaced 
by  Hunter,  the  latter  fell  back  toward  Rolla, 
thus  allowing  Price  to  recover  the  ground  from 
which  he  had  just  been  driven.  He  was 
prompt  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity, 
this  time  directing  his  columns  toward  Kansas, 
with  the  intention  of  getting  supplies  for  his 
troops,  and  cutting  the  State  off  from  all  com- 
munication with  St.  Louis.  But  Halleck 
succeeded  Hunter  on  the  18th  of  IN'ovember, 
and  before  a  month  had  passed  away  Price  in 
turn  was  compelled  to  retreat,  his  men  being 
captured  by  the  thousand,  together  with  large 
quantities  of  arms  and  supplies  of  ammunition 
and  provisions.  It  began  to  look  now,  to 
quote  from  Dick  Graham,  as  though  the  boot 
was  on  the  other  foot.  Instead  of  running  the 
Yankees  out  of  Missouri,  the  Yankees  had  run 
them  out,  fairly  and  squarely,  for  when  Price 
went  into  camp  it  ^vas  over  the  line  in  the  State 


THE   CONSCRIPTION   ACT.  367 

of  Arkansas.  Ev^ery  one  of  the  i)lans  that  the 
Confederates  had  made  for  keeping  the  State 
in  their  possession  and  caiDturing  St.  Louis, 
had  been  broken  up  by  the  strategy  of  the 
Union  generals.  The  battle  of  Belmont,  Avhich 
took  place  in  the  month  of  November,  has  been 
called  a  Confederate  victory,  but  it  was  not  so 
in  reality.  General  Grant  didn't  fight  that 
engagement  because  he  cared  a  cent  for  Bel- 
mont, for  he  knew  he  could  not  hold  it  if  he 
got  it. '  All  he  wanted  was  to  keep  the  Con- 
federates from  sending  troox)s  from  Columbus, 
Kentucky,  to  co-operate  with  Price  in  Missouri. 
He  accomplished  his  object  by  keeping  Polk 
busy  at  home,  and  Price  was  driven  into 
Arkansas. 

"And  we  are  here  with  him,"  said  Dick  to 
his  friend  Rodney,  as  the  two  lay  beside  their 
camp-fire  at  Cove  Creek,  talking  over  the  situ- 
ation. "  We  said  we  never  Avould  go  out  of 
Missouri." 

"That  is  what  you  said,"  replied  Rodney. 
"After  the  farce  those  old  women  went  through 
up  there  at  Neosho,  taking  the  State  out  of  the 
Union  when  they  had  no  authority  over  it,  I 


368  EODNEYj  THE  PAETISATT. 

knew  we  were  going  to  see  trouble.  And  mark 
my  Avords  :  we  have  only  seen  the  beginning 
of  it." 

Either  General  Halleck's  army  was  not  as 
strong  as  he  would  like  to  have  had  it,  or  else 
he  over-estimated  the  strength  of  the  enemy, 
for  he  fell  back  and  the  Confederates  went 
into  winter  quarters,  Price  at  SiDringfield  and 
McCulloch  just  over  the  line  into  Arkansas. 
Now  the  two  friends  had  time  and  oj)portunity 
for  visiting,  but  there  was  no  one  for  them  to 
visit.  Dick  showed  Rodney  where  his  father's 
house  and  Mr.  Percival's  had  once  stood,  but 
there  was  nothing  left  of  them  but  blackened 
ruins.  The  rebels  had  "done  the  business" 
for  one,  and  Union  men  had  "cleaned  out" 
the  other.  Dick  fully  ex^Dected  to  find  it  so,  for 
he  had  often  seen  such  evidence  of  vandalism 
and  hatred  during  his  long  marches  through 
the  State.  The  boys  afterward  learned  that 
Dick's  father  and  mother  had  taken  refuge  with 
friends  in  Little  Rock,  while  Mr.  Percival's 
family  had,  in  some  mysterious  way,  succeeded 
in  reaching  St.  Louis.  Rodney  was  depressed 
by  the  sight  of   the  ruins,  and  thanked  his 


THE   CONSCKIPTIOJN-   ACT.  309 

lucky  stars  that  his  father  and  mother  lived  in 
a  State  in  which  such  things  never  could  be 
done.  The  few  Union  men  there  were  in  and 
around  Mooreville  would  never  dare  trouble 
his  folks,  and  the  Yankees  would  not  be  able 
to  penetrate  so  far  into  the  Confederacy. 

Garrison  duty,  as  the  boys  called  their  life 
in  Avinter  quarters,   was  most    distasteful  to 
til  em,  and  it  was  with  great  delight  that  they 
listened  to  the  rumors  which  early  in  Febru- 
ary came  up  from  McCulloch's  camp,  to  the 
effect  that  the   two  armies   were  to  take  the 
field  again  at  once,  but  that  their  campaign 
was    to    be  in    a  different  direction.     These 
rumors  did  not  say  that  the  Richmond  govern- 
ment had  decided  to  give  up  the  struggle  in 
Missouri  and  turn  its  attention  to  more  impor- 
tant points,  but  the  men,  who  talked  freely  in 
the  presence  of  their  officers,   declared  that 
that  was  what  the  new  move  would  amount  to. 
They  were  to  proceed  to  JNTew  Madrid  to  oper- 
ate with  the  Army  of  the  Center  in  checking 
the    advance     of    the     Federals,    who     were 
threatening  Island  No.  10. 
For  once  rumor  told  the  truth  and  the  move 


370  RODNEY,  THE  PAKTISAN. 

was  made,  though  not  in  the  way  Rodney 
and  Dick  thought  it  would  be.  One  Sunday 
morning  there  was  a  terrible  uproar  made  by  a 
scouting  party  which  came  tearing  into  camp 
with  the  information  that  General  Curtis' s 
army,  forty  thousand  strong,  was  close  upon 
Springfield  and  more  coming.  This  rumor 
was  also  true;  and  ^' Old  Pap  Price,"  as  his 
men  had  learned  to  call  him,  Avho  was  not 
much  of  a  lighter  but  a  'Mnaster  hand  at 
running,"  made  haste  to  get  his  wagon-train 
out  of  the  way.  To  quote  once  more  from 
Dick  Graham,  it  was  hardly  worth  the  trouble, 
for  the  oxen  were  so  lean  and  weak  that  they 
could  scarcely  walk,  and  the  wagons,  which 
Avere  fit  for  nothing  but  fire-wood,  were  loaded 
with  a  lot  of  rubbish  that  was  of  little  value. 
But  "Old  Pap"  was  bent  on  saving  every- 
thing he  had,  and  could  not  have  worked 
harder  to  take  this  train  to  a  place  of  security 
if  it  had  been  freighted  with  the  money  he 
captured  at  Lexington.  The  retreat  soon  be- 
came a  rout.  The  whole  country  was  thrown 
into  a  state  of  alarm,  and  people  came  fiocking 
from   all  directions,  bringing  with  them  the 


THE   CONSCRIPTION   ACT.  371 

few  lioiiseliolcl  effects  that  the  different  raiding 
parties  had  left  them.  Price  kept  u^^  a  run- 
ning fight  until  some  of  McCulloch's  troops 
came  up,  and  then  the  Federal  advance  was 
checked. 

If  General  Curtis  intended  this  sudden 
movement  for  a  surprise  he  could  not  have 
selected  a  better  time  for  it,  and  if  he  had  kei3t 
his  two  columns  together,  instead  of  sending 
Siegel  off  with  thirteen  thousand  men  to  oper- 
ate in  another  quarter,  Price's  army  Avould  have 
"been  eliminated  from  the  problem  of  war," 
and  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge  would  not  have 
been  fought.  McCulloch's  army  was  divided, 
and  McCulloch  himself  was  away  in  another 
direction  surveying  a  route  for  the  march  to 
New  Madrid ;  and  Price,  relying  upon  the 
inhabitants  to  keep  him  posted  in  regard  to 
the  movements  of  our  forces,  as  well  as  ujDon 
the  supposed  impassable  condition  of  the  roads 
in  his  front,  was  whipped  before  he  knew 
there  was  an  enemy  anywhere  within  reach  of 
him.  Then  followed  a  disastrous  retreat  of  an 
army  without  provisions  or  tents,  along  a 
muddy  road,  through  a  snow  storm  so  blind- 


372  EODNEY,    THE   PARTISAN. 


ing  tliat  one  could  scarcely  see  ten  feet  aliead 
of  him,  and  it  went  on  until  it  was  stopped  by 
a  telegram  from  General  Van  Dorn,  who  had 
been  appointed  to  command  the  Confederate 
Army  of  the  West  because  Price  and  McCul- 
loch  could  not  agree.  The  new  general,  who 
declared  that  ''  all  retrograde  movements  must 
be  stopped  at  once,"  and  that  "henceforth  the 
army  must  press  on  to  victory,"  arrived  on 
the*  2d  of  March,  drove  Siegel  out  of  Benton- 
ville  on  the  5th,  and  on  Friday  and  Saturday 
fought  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge— a  thing  that 
he  might  as  well  have  let  alone,  for  he  did  not 
do  what  he  set  out  to  do.  He  retreated  one 
way,  while  General  Curtis  went  another  and 
settled  down  to  aw^ait  reinforcements.  Yan 
Dorn  gave  his  men  to  understand  that  he  was 
not  beaten,  but  he  couldn't  stop  to  pursue 
Curtis,  because  his  orders  compelled  him 
to  at  once  proceed  with  all  his  available 
force  to  join  the  Army  of  the  Center  on  the 
Mississippi. 

Then  came  that  dreary  march  to  Van  Buren 
of  which  we  have  spoken,  and  which  was  a 
little  ahead    of    anything  Rodney  had  ever 


THE   CONSCRIPTION   ACT.  373 

dreamed  of.  The  weary  and  liungry  soldiers 
had  long  since  ceased  to  expect  anything  from 
the  commissary  department,  which  had  disap- 
peared as  completely  as  though  it  had  never 
existed,  and  provisions  of  every  sort  were  so 
scarce  that  the  different  regiments  and  com- 
X)anies  were  obliged  to  break  into  little  squads 
and  forage  on  their  own  account,  the  only 
instructions  they  received  being  to  the  effect 
that  they  were  to  get  to  Van  Buren  as  soon  as 
they  could.  As  Dick  and  Rodney  had  the 
reputation  of  being  excellent  foragers,  and 
were  known  to  be  well  supplied  with  gold, 
they  had  no  difficulty  in  keeping  the  members 
of  their  mess  together.  The  gold  brought 
them  corn  bread,  chickens  and  milk  when 
Confederate  scrip  would  have  failed,  and  when 
they  came  to  compare  notes  with  the  rest  of 
the  regiment  at  Van  Buren,  they  found  that 
they  had  fared  very  well.  The  bulk  of 
Price's  army  had  passed  on  ahead  of  them, 
going  down  into  cellars  and  up  into  garrets, 
and  poking  about  in  hay-mows  and  stacks  in 
search  of  provender  that  had  been  hastily  con- 
cealed by  the  anxious  citizens,  and  Rodney 


374  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

often  wondered  how  McCallocli's  men,  wlio 
brought  up  the  rear,  managed  to  keep  body 
and  soul  together. 

It  was  a  dreary  time  taken  all  around,  but 
their  troubles  did  not  end  when  they  arrived 
at  Van  Buren,  as  they  hoped  they  would.  It 
is  true  they  again  came  within  sight  of  a  com- 
missary department  with  an  abundance  of 
provisions,  a  quartermaster's  department  with 
a  lot  of  mixed-up  baggage  and  camp  equip- 
age, blankets  and  overcoats  that  had  been 
thrown  oif  and  left  at  different  places  along 
the  route,  and  here  they  were  allowed  to  rest 
until  the  stragglers  came  up  and  reported  ; 
but  their  march  was  not  ended.  Tlieir  desti- 
nation was  Pocahontas,  which  was  nearly  two 
hundred  miles  farther  on. 

It  was  while  they  were  enjoying  a  much 
needed  rest  in  camp  at  Yan  Buren  that  they 
heard  one  piece  of  news  that  raised  them  to 
the  highest  pitch  of  excitement,  and  two 
others  that  brought  their  spirits  down  to  zero. 
The  first  was  brought  to  camp  by  a  member  of 
Dick's  mess  who  had  somehow  managed  to 
get  hold  of  a  i)aper  containing  a  greatly  exag- 


THE   COXSCniPTION   ACT.  375 

gerated  account  of  tlie  first  day's  figlit  at 
Pittsburg  Landing. 

"Listen  to  this,  boys,"  he  sliouted,  as  the 
mess  gathered  around  him  and  tlie  soldiers 
came  running  from  all  directions  to  see  what 
the  excitement  was  about.  "  'If  we've  been 
worsted  here  in  the  West,  our  friends  in  the 
East  have  made  uj)  for  it  by  sweeping  every- 
thing before  them.  Grant,  the  Yankee  gen- 
eral, has  been  surprised  at  Shiloh,  his  army 
driven  pell-mell  through  their  camj)  and  down 
under  the  bank  of  the  river,  where  their 
gunboats  saved  them.  Johnston  lived  long 
enough  to  see  the  Yankees  in  full  Higlit  and 
then  he  was  killed  ;  but  Beauregard,  who  took 
his  place,  telegraphs  that  '  certain  destruction 
awaits  the  enemy  on  the  morrow.'  '  That 
would  be — let  me  see.  Why,  this  paper  is 
two  weeks  old,"  he  added,  in  a  disaj)23ointed 
tone,  glancing  at  the  date. 

"  No  matter  ;  we  whipped  them,"  exclaimed 
Rodney  ;  and  when  some  one  jDrojiosed  three 
cheers  for  the  Army  of  the  Center,  he  luilled 
oif  his  cap  and  joined  in  with  a  will. 

Captain  Jones,  who    brought    with  him  a 


376  EODNEY,  THE   PAKTISAIS". 

longer  face  than  any  of  liis  company  had  ever 
seen  him  wear  before,  sauntered  np  while  the 
cheering  was  going  on,  and  asked  wliat  it  was 
all  about.  When  he  learned  that  they  were 
happy  over  the  glorious  news  from  Shiloh,  he 
said,  as  he  drew  a  couple  of  papers  from  his 
pocket : 

"You  fellows  are  away  behind  the  times. 
That  news  is  old,  and  Beauregard  hollered 
before  he  was  out  of  the  woods.  Read  this 
later  account,"  he  continued,  handing  one  of 
the  papers  to  Dick,  and  placing  a  finger  upon 
the  column  to  which  he  wished  to  draw  atten- 
tion. "And  after  you  have  read  that,  take 
the  other  paper  and  see  what  it  says  about 
conscription." 

The  captain  turned  on  his  heel  and  walked 
away,  but  looked  back  with  an  expression  of 
astonishment  on  his  face  when  he  heard  one  of 
his  men  exclaim  : 

"Has  the  Richmond  government  really 
passed  a  Conscription  Act  ?  Then  I  say  bully 
for  the  Richmond  government.  There  are  lots 
of  sneaks  in  our  town  who  shouted  'sick  'em,' 
to  us,  but  who  were  too  cowardly  to  put  on  a 


THE   CONSCRIPTION   ACT.  377 

uniform  themselves.  If  tliey  have  got  to 
come  in  whether  they  want  to  or  not,  I  am  a 
Confederate  from  this  minute.  Read  about 
the  battle  first,  sergeant,  and  then  we'll  hear 
about  the  conscription  law." 

Dick  complied,  and  before  he  got  through 
there  were  some  angry  and  astonished  men 
standing  around  him. 


X 


CHAPTER  XYII. 

RODNEY  MEETS  A  FRIEND. 

SERGEAIN'T  GRAHAM  first  read  aloud 
the  account  of  the  second  day's  fighting 
at  Pittsburg  Landing ;  but  of  course  the  fact 
that  Beauregard  had  sustained  a  crushing 
defeat  and  been  forced  to  retire  from  Corinth, 
was  carefully  concealed.  It  was  to  be  ex- 
pected, the  paper  said,  that  twenty-five  thou- 
sand fresh  men  would  turn  the  tide  of  battle 
in  favor  of  the  enemy,  but  even  against  these 
overwhelming  odds  the  Confederates  had  held 
their  own  until  noon,  and  then  left  the  field  in 
good  order. 

"I  don't  see  anything  to  feel  bad  over  in 
that  account,"  said  Rodney,  whose  war-like 
spirit  arose  every  time  he  heard  a  glowing- 
story  of  a  fight.  "We  knew  when  we  went 
into  this  thing  that  the  Yankees  could  raise 
more  men  than  we  could,  and  we  expected  to 
fight  against  big  odds.      Now    for    the    con- 

378 


RODNEY   MEETS   A   FRIEND.  379 

scripts,"  and  when  Rodney  said  this,  he 
thought  of  Tom  Randolj^h,  and  hoped  that  he 
Avould  be  the  first  Moore ville  citizen  to  "draw 
a  prize." 

He  thought  he  coukl  imagine  how  Tom 
would  look  and  feel  after  he  had  made  a  cam- 
paign with  a  foot  or  more  of  mud  under  his 
feet,  dripping  storm-clouds  over  his  head  and 
not  so  much  as  a  crumb  of  corn  bread  in  his 
haversack,  and  laughed  silently  as  he  j^ictured 
him  at  a  smoking  camp-fire  with  a  lot  of  veter- 
ans "looking  fun"  at  him.  His  own  term  of 
service  would  soon  expire,  and  he  hoped  he 
should  reach  home  in  time  to  see  Tom  march 
out  with  the  first  squad  of  conscripts  that  left 
Mooreville  ;  but  as  Dick  proceeded  to  i^ad  the 
abstract  of  the  Act  as  it  ai3peared  in  the  paper, 
all  the  while  i3ushing  the  sheet  farther  and 
farther  from  him  as  his  amazement  and  anger 
increased,  Rodney  found  that  the  situation 
was  not  quite  so  amusing  as  he  thought,  and 
that  he,  Rodney  Gray,  was  in  a  worse  box 
than  his  friend,  Tom  Randolph.  It  was  the 
first  general  conscription  law  of  the  Confeder- 
acy, and  "it  withdrew  every  non-exempt  citi- 


380  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 


zen,  between  tbe  ages  of  eighteen  and  thirty- 
five,  from  State  control,  and  placed  him  abso- 
lutely at  the  disposal  of  the  President  during 
the  war."  When  Dick  had  read  this  far  he 
looked  at  liis  comrades  to  see  wdiat  they 
thought  of  it. 

"Why,  it's  —  it's  —  the  Czar  of  Russia 
couldn't  do  worse,"  exclaimed  the  first  one 
who  recovered  control  of  his  tongue.  "It's  a 
fraud — a  despotic  act.  Where  are  our  State 
Eights  now,  I  should  like  to  know  ?  " 

"  Go  on,"  said  Captain  Jones,  Avho  stood  on 
the  outskirts  of  the  group  but  within  hearing 
distance.     "There's  worse  to  come." 

Dick  Graham,  who  did  not  see  how  any- 
thing  could  be  worse,  went  on  with  his  read- 
ing and  found  that  the  Act  "annulled  all  con- 
tracts made  with  volunteers  for  short  terms, 
holding  them  to  service  for  two  years  addi- 
tional, should  the  war  continue  so  long ;  and 
all  twelve  months'  recruits,  below  eighteen  and 
over  thirty-five  years,  who  would  otherwise 
have  been  exempted  by  this  law^,  w^ere  to  be 
retained  in  service  for  ninety  days  after  their 
term  expired." 


KODNEY   MEETS   A   FRIEND.  381 

"Hey— youp  !  "  j^elled  Dick,  dcancing  about 
like  one  demented.  "Our  own  government  is 
ten  times  worse  than  the  one  we  are  fierhtino: 
against,  and  every  one  of  us  was  a  fool  for  ever 
putting  on  a  gray  jacket.  Why  didn't  they 
tell  us  all  this  in  the  first  place,  so  that  we 
might  know  what  there  was  before  us  ?  It's  a 
fraud  and  a  cheat  and  a  swindle  and  a — and 
a — what  are  you  about?"  he  added,  turning 
almost  fiercely  upon  his  captain,  who  elbowed 
his  way  through  the  excited  group  and  tried 
to  take  the  paper  from  his  hand.  "I'll  not 
obey  the  orders  of  the  Richmond  government, 
and  that's  all  there  is  about  it." 

"I  was  going  to  direct  your  attention  to 
something  else,"  replied  the  captain,  paying 
no  heed  to  the  sergeant's  rudeness.  "But 
since  you  are  so  nearly  beside  yourself  I  don' t 
suppose  you  can  read  it,  and  so  I  had  better 
tell  you  what  it  is.  You  say  you  Avill  not 
obey  the  orders  of  the  -  Richmond  govern- 
ment?" 

"That  is  what  I  said,  and  I  will  stick  to  it," 
exclaimed  Dick.     "  They  have  no  right — " 

"Hold  on  a  bit,"  the  captain   intei'posed. 


382  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

"  They  may  not  have  the  right  but  they  have 
the  x)ower,  and  you  will  have  to  give  in.  They 
offer  you  inducements  to  re-enlist  for  two 
years.  You  will  be  regarded  as  volunteers, 
and  be  allowed  the  privilege  of  changing  your 
officers  and  electing  new  ones." 

This  was  a  big  inducement  indeed.  The 
men  laughed  derisively  when  they  heard  it. 

''If  you  don't  volunteer,  but  insist  on  leav- 
ing the  army  when  your  term  of  service  ex- 
pires, you  will  never  get  out  of  the  camp," 
continued  the  captain.  "  You  will  be  con- 
scripted." 

"I  don't  care  if  I  am,"  answered  Dick,  in- 
dignantly.    "  I'll  not  do  tluty." 

' '  Then  you  will  be  treated  as  a  mutineer 
and  run  the  risk  of  being  shot  without  the 
benefit  of  a  drum-head  court-martial,"  said  the 
captain  ;  whereupon  the  men  backed  off,  thrust 
their  hands  into  their  jDockets  and  looked  at 
him  and  at  one  another.  "I  tell  you,  boys, 
this  is  no  time  for  foolishness,"  the  captain 
w^ent  on,  earnestly.  "Ever  since  Bull  Kun 
the  Northern  people  have  been  showing  the 
mettle  that's  in  them.     That  defeat  got  their 


EODNEY   MEETS   A   FRIEND.  383 

blood  up  and  they  mean  business.  They  have 
more  volunteers  than  they  want.  Their  armies 
are  growing  stronger  every  day,  while  ours  are 
growing  weaker  every  hour.  To  be  honest, 
there  isn'  t  half  the  patriotism  now  there  was 
among  us  when  these  troubles  first  begun. 
Desertions  are  alarmingly  frequent,  and  volun- 
tary enlistments  are  almost  entirely  suspended. 
We  must  have  men  to  figlit  our  battles,  or  else 
surrender  our  cherished  liberties  to  such  Hes- 
sians and  Tories  as  Curtis  brought  against  us 
at  Pea  Ridge." 

"And  whipped  us  with,"  added  one  of  the 
men  ;  and  the  captain  couldn't  contradict  him, 
for  it  Avas  the  truth.*  He  could  only  look  at 
him  reproachfully. 

"'Is  Sparta  dead  in  your  veins?'"  ex- 
claimed the  captain,  quoting  from  the  sjoeech 
of  Simrtacus  to  his  fellow  gladiators.  "Are 
you  willing  to  give  up  wdiipped  and  permit  a 
lot  of  Regicides  and  Roundheads  to  i^ut  their 
feet  on  your  necks  1" 

Taking  this  for  his  text  the  officer  s^Doke 
earnestly  for  ten  minutes,  drawing  largely 
from    the    fiery    editorials    of    the    Southern 


384  KODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

papers,  whicli  lie  had  read  so  often  that  he  had 
them  by  heart,  and  tr^dng  his  best  to  infuse  a 
little  of  his  own  spirit  into  the  angry,  scowling 
men  w^ho  had  crowded  around  him,  but  witli- 
oat  any  very  flattering  success.  There  was  but 
one  thought  in  their  minds — they  had  been 
duped  by  the  Richmond  government,  which 
had  so  suddenly  developed  into  a  despotism 
that  it  w^as  plain  the  machinery  for  it  had 
been  prepared  long  before.  They  could  not 
go  home  even  for  a  short  time  to  visit  their 
friends  after  their  term  of  service  had  exjiired, 
and  it  is  no  wonder  that  they  felt  sore  over  it. 
Seeing  that  he  could  not  arouse  their  patriot- 
ism, the  captain  next  tried  to  arouse  their 
combativeness. 

"On  the  same  day  that  the  battle  of  Shiloh 
was  decided  against  us,  there  was  another 
struggle  settled  a  hundred  miles  nearer  to  us," 
said  he.  "That  too  went  against  us.  Island 
No.  10,  the  stronghold  that  was  to  have  kept 
the  enemy  from  going  down  the  Mississippi, 
has  fallen,  and  the  way  is  open  to  Memphis." 

"But  the  Yankees  will  never  get  there," 
exclaimed  Rodney.     "When  I  came  up  the 


RODNEY   MEETS   A  FRIEND.  385 

river  on  the  MoUie  Able,  I  heard  a  man  say 
we  had  a  fleet  building  there  that  would  event- 
ually take  Cairo  and  St.  Louis  too." 

"I  certainly  hope  he  was  right,  but  things 
don't  seem  to  point  that  way  now,"  replied 
the  caiDtain. 

"  That  is  good  news  for  us  in  one  respect," 
Dick  Graham  remarked.  "  IS'ew  Madrid  must 
have  fallen  too,  and  if  that  is  the  case,  we'll 
not  be  ordered  there.  It's  too  late.  We'll 
stay  in  our  own  State." 

The  captain  shook  his  head,  and  his  men 
knew  by  the  expression  on  his  face  that  he 
had  something  yet  to  tell  them. 

"There's  where  you  are  wrong,"  said  he. 
*'We  are  going  to  Memphis  as  quick  as  we 
can  get  there,  and  from  Memphis  we  shall  go 
to  Corinth  to  join  the  army  under  Beauregard. 
I  am  sorry  you  boys  feel  so  about  it,  but  I 
really  don't  see  how  you  are  going  to  help 
yourselves.  jN'ow  brace  up  and  do  your  duty 
like  men,  as  you  always  have  done  it.  I  don't 
want  to  see  any  of  you  get  into  trouble,  but 
you  certainly  will  if  you  kick  over  the 
traces." 


386  RODNEY,  THE  PAKTISAIS". 


This  last  announcement  was  altogether  too 
much  for  the  men,  who  turned  iiway  in  a  body, 
muttering  the  heaviest  kind  of  adjectives, 
' '  not  loud  but  deep/ '    When  the  two  boys  were 

left  alone  with  the  captain  the  latter  inquired : 

"  How  old  are  you  ?  " 

"  Seventeen,"  growled  Rodney. 

"  Well,  you  will  have  to  stay  in  ninety  days 
after  your  term  exjpires.  Will  that  make  you 
eighteen  ? " 

"  IS'o,  it  wouldn't;  and  if  it  did  they  would 
be  careful  not  to  say  so." 

"  Then  I  don't  see  what  reason  you  have  to 
get  liujffy  over  a  thing  that  can't  be  helped," 
continued  the  officer.  "We  must  have  men, 
and  if  they  will  not  come  in  willingly,  they 
must  be  dragged  in.  We  can't  be  subdued  ; 
w^e  never  will  consent  to  be  slaves.  But  you 
two  w411  get  out  all  right." 

"We  knew  it  all  the  while;  at  least  I 
thought  of  it,"  re^Dlied  Dick,  "but  I  didn't 
want  to  mention  it  Avliile  the  rest  of  the  boys 
were  around.  They  are  mad  already,  and  it 
might  make  them  worse  to  know  that  we  two 
are  better  off  than  they  are." 


RODNEY   MEETS   A   FPwIEND.  387 

"  But  I  want  to  tell  you  that  you  will  make 
a  big  mistake  if  you  accept  your  discharges," 
the  captain  went  on  to  say.  "  You  ought  by 
all  means  to  stay  in  until  this  thing  is  settled 
and  the  invaders  driven  from  our  soil.  You'll 
Avish  you  had  when  you  see  the  boys  come 
home  covered  with  glory.  And  then  think  of 
the  possibilities  before  you  !  You  are  bound 
to  be  promoted,  and  that  rapidly.  If  I  had 
your  military  education  I  would  not  be  satis- 
fied with  anything  short  of  a  colonelcy." 

"Well,  you  may  have  it,  and  since  you 
want  it,  I  hope  you  will  get  it ;  but  I  wouldn't 
accept  it  if  it  were  offered  to  me,"  answered 
Dick,  turning  on  his  heel.  "I'll  not  serve 
under  such  a  fraud  of  a  government  as  this 
has  turned  out  to  be  a  day  longer  than  I  can 
help.  I'll  take  my  discharge  as  soon  as  they 
will  condescend  to  give  it  to  me,  and  then  they 
can  hunt  somebody  to  fill  my  place.  I'll  never 
volunteer  again,  and  sooner  than  be  con- 
scripted I'll  take  to  the  woods." 

"Now,   sergeant,   you   know  you  wouldn't 
do  any  such  thing,"  said  the  captain. 

Yes,  I  would,"  Dick  insisted.     "There  is 


u 


Q 


88  EOD^EY,  THE   PARTISAT^. 

a  principle  at  the  bottom  of  this  whole  thing 
that  is  most  contemptible ;  bnt  what  more 
conld  you  expect  of  men  w^ho  induced  us  to 
enlist  by  holding  out  the  promise  of  an  easy 
victory?  'The  ISTorth  wont  fight!'  This 
looks  like  it.     We're  whipped  already." 

These  were  the  sentiments  of  thousands  of 
men  who  w^ore  gray  jackets  in  the  beginning 
of  1862,  but  it  wasn't  every  one  wdio  dared 
express  them  as  boldly  as  Dick  Graham  did, 
nor  was  it  every  ofiicer  who  would  have  lis- 
tened as  quietly  as  did  Captain  Jones.  Every- 
thing went  to  show  that  the  officers  had  been 
drilled  in  the  i)arts  they  were  expected  to  per- 
form long  before  the  men  dreamed  that  such  a 
thing  as  a  Conscription  Act  ts-as  thought  of  ; 
for,  as  a  rule,  all  discussion  regarding  the 
policy  of  the  Richmond  government  was 
"choked  off"  with  a  strong  hand.  In  some 
armies,  Bragg' s  especially,  the  men  were 
treated  "worse  than  their  niggers  ever  were." 
They  dared  not  speak  above  a  whisper  for  fear 
of  being  shoved  into  the  guard-house  ;  and 
"when  some  regiments  hesitated  to  avail 
themselves  of  this  permission  (to   volunteer) 


RODNEY    MEETS   A   FKIEND.  389 

they  were  treated  as  seditious,  and  the  most 
refractory  soldiers,  on  the  point  of  being  shot, 
only  saved  their  lives  by  the  prompt  signature 
of  their  comrades  to  the  compact  of  a  new  en- 
listment." Things  were  not  quite  as  bad  as 
this  in  Price's  army,  but  still  Captain  Jones 
thought  it  best  to  tell  his  men,  especially  the 
out-spoken  Dick  Graham,  that  they  had  bet- 
ter be  a  little  more  guarded  in  their  language, 
unless  they  were  well  acquainted  with  those  to 
whom  they  were  talking.  They  went  to  Mem- 
phis, as  the  captain  said  they  would,  marching 
over  a  horrible  road  and  leaving  some  of  their 
artillery  stuck  in  the  mud  at  Desarc  on  White 
Kiver,  and  from  Memphis  they  went  to  Corinth 
forty  miles  farther  on,  packed  in  box  cars  like 
sheep,  and  on  top  like  so  much  useless  rub- 
bish. Their  train  was  rushed  through  at  such 
a  rate  of  speed  that  the  men  on  top  shouted 
to  the  engineer : 

"  Go  it.  Let  out  two  or  three  more  sections 
of  that  throttle.  Run  us  off  into  the  ditch 
and  kill  us  if  you  want  to.  There  are  plenty 
more  men  where  w^e  came  from." 

Rodney  Gray   afterward    declared  that  he 


390  RODNEY,  THE   PAKTISA:N^. 

had  never  seen  a  grander  sight  than  Beaure- 
gard's camp  presented  when  the  troops  from 
the  West  marched  through  it,  greeted  every- 
where by  the  most  vociferous  cheering,  to  take 
their  positions  on  tlie  rigiit.  Their  arrival 
brought  the  strength  of  the  army  up  to 
more  than  a  hundred  thousand  men,  and,  some- 
w^hat  to  their  surprise,  they  were  introduced 
to  their  new  comrades  as  "  Invincibles."  At 
any  rate  that  was  what  General  Bragg  called 
them  in  an  address  which  he  issued  to  his  sol- 
diers a  few  days  afterward  : 

"The  slight  reverses  we  have  met  on  the 
sea-board  have  worked  us  good  as  well  as 
evil,"  was  what  he  said  in  the  vain  hope  of 
blinding  his  troops  to  the  real  magnitude  of 
the  disaster  that  had  recently  befallen  the 
Confederacy.  "The  brave  troops  so  long  re- 
tained there  have  hastened  to  swell  your  num- 
bers, while  the  gallant  Van  Dorn  and  invinci- 
ble Price,  with  the  ever-successful  Army  of 
the  AVest,  are  now  in  your  midst,  with  num- 
bers ahnost  equaling  the  Army  of  Shiloh." 

The  "  slight  reverses  "  to  which  the  general 
so  gingerly  referred  were  the  passage  of  Forts 


RODNEY    MEETS   A   FRIEND.  391 

Jackson  and  St.  Philip  by  Farragiit's  fleet, 
the  annihilation  of  the  Confederate  gunboats 
and  the  capture  of  New  Orleans  ;  and  these 
"slight  reverses"  were  almost  immediately 
followed  by  the  defeat  of  the  gunboats  that 
had  been  building  at  Memphis,  and  of  which 
the  Confederates  expected  such  great  things. 
But  the  rank  and  file  of  the  army  were  not  so 
easily  deceived.  They  knew  well  enough  that 
the  accounts  that  came  to  them  through  the 
papers  were  "  doctored  "  on  purpose  for  them, 
and  were  fully  sensible  of  the  fact  that  the 
loss  of  these  important  points,  Memphis  and 
New  Orleans,  were  disasters  most  discourag- 
ing. When  they  were  in  the  presence  of 
those  to  whom  they  knew  they  could  speak 
freely,  they  sneered  at  the  efforts  made  by 
their  superiors  to  belittle  the  Union  victories, 
and  laughed  to  scorn  Mayor  Monroe  and  the 
"  city  fathers  "  for  the  attitude  they  had  seen 
fit  to  assume  while  Farragut's  powerful  fleet 
held  the  Crescent  city  under  its  guns.  If  the 
pompous  little  mayor,  by  folding  his  arms  and 
standing  in  front  of  that  loaded  howitzer 
when  the  marines  came  ashore  to   hoist  the 


392  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

Stars  and  Stripes  over  the  Custom  House, 
desired  to  show  the  people  of  New  Orleans 
and  the  country  at  large  what  a  brave  man  he 
was,  he  failed  of  his  object,  for  the  men  who 
had  faced  cannon  on  the  field  of  battle  had 
nothing  but  contempt  for  him  and  his  antics. 

' '  He  has  made  himself  a  laughing-stock  for 
all  time  to  come,"  was  what  Rodney  Gray 
thought  about  it.  "That  was  all  done  for 
effect,  for  there  Avas  not  the  slightest  danger 
that  the  Yankees  would  fire  that  howitzer  at 
him  while  he  was  going  through  his  monkey- 
shines.  K  he  is  such  an  awful  brave  man, 
why  didn't  he  follow  that  naval  officer  to  the 
roof  of  the  Custom  House  and  jerk  the  Union 
flag  down  the  minute  it  was  hauled  up  ? " 

"  Or  why  doesn't  he  shoulder  a  musket  and 
fall  in  with  us?"  chimed  in  Dick.  "One 
short  campaign  through  Missouri  mud  would 
take  some  of  that  nonsense  out  of  him." 

There  were  a  good  many  in  the  army  who 
thought  that  the  constant  maneuvering  and 
skirmishing  that  followed  during  the  next  few 
weeks  were  not  kept  up  because  a  great  battle 
was  expected,  but  for  the  x:)urpose  of  giving 


KODNEY    MEETS   A   FKIEND.  393 

the  men  so  much  to  do  that  they  could  not  get 
together  and  talk  over  the  discouraging  news 
tliey  had  recently  heard.  There  was  one 
engagement  fought,  that  of  Farmington, 
which  resulted  in  a  victory  for  the  Confeder- 
ates, and  taught  them  at  the  same  time  that 
they  were  mistaken  in  sui)posing  that  our 
troojDs  would  not  venture  so  far  into  the  coun- 
try that  they  would  be  out  of  the  reach  of 
help  from  the  gunboats,  Avhich  had  rendered 
them  such  important  service  at  the  battle  of 
Pittsburg  Landing.  Of  course  Eodney  and 
Dick  marched  and  skirmished  and  fought 
with  the  rest,  but  they  didn't  care  much 
whether  they  whipped  or  got  whipped,  for  the 
feelings  that  took  them  away  from  home  and 
friends  and  into  the  army,  had  long  since 
given  place  to  others  of  an  entirely  different 
character.  They  didn't  care  as  much  for  State 
Eights  and  Southern  independence  as  they 
did  once,  and  if  they  ever  got  home  again  the 
Eichmond  government  might  go  to  smash  for 
all  they  could  do  to  save  it.  Two  questions 
engrossed  their  minds,  and  formed  the  princi- 
pal subjects   of    their    conversation:    Would 


394  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

they  be  permitted  to  leave  the  service  when 
the  year  for  which  they  enlisted  expired  ;  and 
if  so,  how  was  Dick  Graham  going  to  get 
across  the  river  into  Missouri  now  that  Mem- 
phis had  fallen,  and  the  Mississippi  as  far 
down  as  Yicksburg  was  in  possession  of  the 
Federals  ? 

In  regard  to  the  first  question — there  was  one 
thins;  w^hich  the  bovs  were  afraid  would  work 
against  them.  While  nearly  all  the  line  officers 
of  the  regiment  remained  with  them,  the  field 
officers  who  had  come  with  them  from  the 
West  had  disappeared,  some  being  promoted, 
some  discharged  and  others  being  sent  to  the 
hosx)ital,  new  ones  had  taken  their  places  and 
a  new  staff  had  been  appointed. 

"And  a  lovely  staff  it  is,"  said  Dick,  ex- 
pressing the  sentiments  of  every  man  in  his 
comi3any.  "  I  can  see  now  w^hy  that  Con- 
scription Act  was  passed.  It  was  to  make 
room  for  a  lot  of  government  pets,  who  are  too 
fine  to  go  into  the  ranks,  but  who  are  allowed 
to  come  here  and  shove  out  veterans  when  they 
cannot  tell  the  difference  between  '  counter- 
march by  file  right '  and  '  right  by  twos.'    Our 


KODNEY    MEETS   A   FRIEND.  395 

new  colonel  doesn't  know  who  we  are  or  what 
we  have  done,  and  cares  less  ;  and  when  we  go 
to  him  for  our  discharges,  he  will  throw  so 
much  red-tape  in  our  way  that  we  can't  get 
out.     That's  what  I  am  afraid  of." 

As  to  the  other  question — how  Dick  Graham 
was  to  get  over  the  river — that  was  something 
that  could  be  settled  when  they  had  their  dis- 
charges in  their  pockets.  First  and  foremost 
Dick  would  go  home  with  Rodnej^ ;  and  after 
he  had  taken  a  good  long  rest,  and  learned  all 
about  the  means  of  communication  between 
the  two  shores  (they  were  positive  there  must 
be  some  regular  means  of  communication, 
because  Dick  had  received  two  letters  from 
home  since  he  had  joined  the  Army  of  the 
Center),  Rodney  would  take  his  chances  of 
seeing  him  safely  across  the  river.  But  their 
discharges  must  be  their  first  care,  and  they 
came  much  easier  than  they  dared  hope  for. 
One  day  Rodney  was  detailed  to  act  as  guard 
at  brigade  headquarters,  and  the  first  officer  to 
whom  he  presented  arms  was  one  whose  face 
was  strangely  familiar  to  him.  It  was  his  new 
brigade  commander,  and  a  wild  hope  sprung 


396  EODIS^EY,  THE   PAETISAN. 

up  in  Rodney's  breast.  The  energetic,  soldier- 
like manner  in  which  he  handled  his  piece 
attracted  the  notice  of  the  general,  who  seemed 
to  be  in  good  Immor,  and  who  unbent  from  his 
dignity  long  enough  to  remark  : 

You  have  been  well  drilled,  sentry." 
Yes,  sir;    at  Barrington    Military  Acad- 
emy,"   rei^lied  Rodney,   with  a  good  deal  of 
emphasis  on  the  last  Avords. 

This  had  just  the  effect  the  boy  meant  it 
should  have.  The  general  stoi^ped  and  locked 
curiously  at  him,  and  Rodney,  instead  of 
keeping  his  eyes  "straight  to  the  front  and 
striking  the  ground  at  the  distance  of  fifteen 
paces,"  returned  his  superior's  gaze  with 
interest. 

"Haven't  I  seen  you  before?"  the  latter 
asked  at  length. 

"  Yes,  sir  ;  aboard  the  steamer  Mollie  AJble, 
going  uj)  the  river  a  year  ago,"  answered  Rod- 
ney.    "  You  were  Captain  Howard  then." 

The  boy  had  no  business  to  say  all  this,  and 
no  one  in  the  army  knew  it  better  than  he  did. 
It  was  his  place  to  wait  and  be  questioned  ; 
but  he  couldn't  do  it.     There  was  too  much  at 


KODNEY    MEETS   A   FKIEND.  397 

stake — his  discliarge  and  Dick's.  The  general 
did  not  appear  to  notice  this  breach  of  military 
etiquette.  On  the  contrary  he  smiled  and  said, 
pleasantly: 

"I  remember  you  perfectly.  You  were  on 
your  way  to  join  Price,  and  your  presence  here 
proves  that  you  found  him.  When  you  are 
relieved  I  want  to  see  you." 

"  Very  good,  sir,"  replied  Rodney,  bringing 
his  piece  to  a  shoulder  and  resuming  his  Avalk. 
^Tf  that  man's  word  is  worth  anj^thing,"  he 
added,  mentally,  when  the  general  disappeared 
in  his  tent,  "Dick  Graham  and  I  will  be  free 
men  when  our  year  and  three  months  are  up, 
and  you  just  say  that  much  to  your  folks  and 
tell  'em  it's  confidential.  He  as  good  as  said 
that  he  would  do  something  for  me  if  he  could, 
and  now  I  will  try  him  on;  but  there's  one 
thing  I'll  not  promise  to  do:  I  wont  re-enlist 
until  I  get  a  good  ready,  and  if  I  can  help 
myself,  that  time  will  never  come." 

Rodney  walked  his  beat  as  if  he  were  tread- 
ing  on  air,  and  wished  his  friend  Dick  would 
happen  along  about  the  time  he  was  relieved, 
so  that  he  might  tell  him  that  he  believed  he 


398  EODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 


had  found  a  i:)0\verful  friend  in  tlieir  new 
brigade  commander.  At  the  end  of  two  hours, 
having  been  relieved  from  post  and  obtained 
the  necessary  permission  from  the  officer  of 
the  guard,  Rodney  presented  himself  at  the 
door  of  General  Howard's  tent,  and  sent  his 
name  in  by  the  orderly. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

.  COI^CLUSION. 

/^  ENERAL  HOAVARD  did  not  look  or  act 
\IX  like  a  man  who  was  very  badly  over- 
worked, nor  did  he  seem  to  be  at  all  anxious 
over  the  result  of  the  heavy  firing  that  was 
going  on  on  the  left  of  the  line.  He  had  pulled 
off  his  coat  and  riding  boots,  and  when  the 
orderly  entered  to  tell  him  that  Private  Rod- 
ney Gray  of  the  — th  Missouri  Cavalry  had 
come  there  to  see  him  by  his  orders,  he  was 
filling  his  pipe  preparatory  to  indulging  in  a 
smoke.  He  greeted  Rodney  pleasantly,  and 
pointed  with  the  stem  of  his  pipe  to  an  empty 
cracker  box. 

*'Turn  that  up  and  sit  down,"  said  he; 
whereupon  the  orderly  opened  his  eyes  in 
wonder.  There  was  a  much  wider  gulf  be- 
between  the  officers  and  privates  in  the  rebel 
army  than  there  was  in  our  own,  especially 
after  the  war  had  been  going  on  for  about  a 

399 


400  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

year.  The  sons  of  ricli  men,  who  had  shoul- 
dered a  musket  at  the  beginning,  began  work- 
ing their  way  out  of  the  ranks,  leaving  behind 
them  only  those  who  were  too  poor  or  too  low 
in  the  social  scale  to  command  the  influence 
that  was  necessary  to  bring  them  a  com- 
mission. As  a  rule  rich  people  in  the  South 
did  not  think  much  of  j)oor  white  trash.  The 
latter  were  good  enough  to  fight  and  obey 
orders,  but  scarcely  good  enough  to  be  treated 
with  civility ;  so  when  General  Howard  told 
his  visitor  to  turn  up  the  cracker  box  and  sit 
down  on  it,  the  orderly  straightway  made  up 
his  mind  that  Rodney  Gray  was  a  little  better 
than  the  common  run  of  folks,  even  if  he  was 
a  private  soldier. 

'' I  don't  suppose  you  have  thought  of  me 
once  since  I  bid  you  good-by  at  that  wood- 
cutters' camp,"  said  the  general,  throwing 
himself  upon  a  rude  couch  and  projDping  his 
head  up  with  his  hand.  "But  I  have  often 
thought  of  you,  and  a  few  months  ago  I  was 
down  Mooreville  way  on  a  scout.  I  i3assed 
right  by  your  father's  plantation,  and  finding 
out  who  he   was,  and  beiug  a  trifle  hungry 


CONCLUSIOJS".  401 

besides,   I  dropped  in  and  invited  myself  to 
dinner  with  him  and  your  mother." 

Rodney  was  delighted  to  hear  this,  but  all 
he  said  was  that  he  hoped  the  general  had 
enjo^^ed  his  visit. 

"  I  assure  you  I  did,  and  the  dinner  too," 
w^as  the  smiling  reply.  "And  during  the 
hour  I  passed  there  I  learned  a  good  deal  con- 
cerning your  life  in  Missouri,  and  heard  some 
portions  of  your  letters  read.  Your  parents 
were  much  surprised  to  know  that  I  met  you 
on  your  way  up  the  river,  and  I  renewed  to 
them  the  promise  I  believe  I  made  you  on  the 
steamer — that  if  I  could  ever  do  you  a  fatherly 
kindness  I  would.  I  am  glad  to  see  you  in 
my  brigade,  but  I  don't  quite  understand  how 
it  comes  that  you  are  still  a  private.  Haven't 
you  done  your  duty,  or  wouldn't  your  officers 
push  you?" 

''The  fault  is  my  own,  sir,"  answered  Rod- 
ney. ''  I  might  have  gone  higher  but  I  didn't 
care  to." 

Then  he  went  on  to  tell  the  general  about 
Dick  Graham.  The  latter  was  a  Barring  ton 
boy  too,  he   said,  and  they  had  made  it  up 


402  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

between  tliem  that  it  wouldn't  be  worth  Avhile 
for  them  to  accept  promotion,  for  they  had 
only  a  year  to  serve,  and  besides  they  did  not 
Avant  to  run  the  risk  of  being  separated. 

"  Oh,  as  to  that,  you  mustn't  expect  to  stick 
together  all  the  time,"  replied  the  general. 
"The  exigencies  of  the  service  will  not  admit 
of  it ;  you  know  that  yourself.  Still  I  will  try 
to  do  something  for  your  friend  too,  if  I  find 
upon  inquiry  of  your  regimental  and  company 
officers  that  he  is  worthy.  I  lost  four  of  my 
staff  at  the  battle  of  Farmington,  and,  if  you 
like,  will  order  you  and  Sergeant  Graham  to 
present  yourselves  for  examination." 

Kodney  fairly  gasi^ed  for  breath,  and  wished 
that  the  general  had  not  taken  quite  so  deep 
an  interest  in  him.  The  crisis  was  coming 
now,  and  he  nerved  himself  for  it. 

"lam  very  much  obliged,  general,"  he  fal- 
tered. "But  my  time  will  be  up  in  about  two 
weeks,  and  I  should  like  to  go  home  and  see 
my  folks." 

Kodney  expected  that  his  superior  would  be 
surprised  to  hear  this,  and  his  actions  showed 
that  he  certainly  was,  and  a  little  angry,  as 


conclusiojN-.  403 

well.  He  arose  to  a  sitting  posture  on  the 
couch,  and  jammed  the  tobacco  down  in  his 
pipe  with  a  spiteful  motion  as  he  said,  rather 
curtly  : 

"You  must  give  up  all  such  nonsense.  I 
am  not  going  to  deplete  my  brigade,  at  this 
most  critical  time,  by  letting  everybody  go 
home  who  takes  a  fool's  notion  into  his  head 
that  he  wants  to.  According  to  law  I  am 
obliged  to  discharge  all  one  year's  men  when 
their  term  of  service  expires  ;  but  they  shall 
never  get  out  of  my  lines.  I'll  conscript  them 
as  fast  as  a  provost  guard  can  catch  them." 

The  general  settled  back  on  his  elbow  again 
and  looked  at  his  visitor  as  if  to  inquire  what 
he  thought  of  the  situation.  Rodney  thought 
it  was  dark  enough,  and  showed  what  he 
thought  by  the  gloomy  expression  that  came 
upon  his  face.  He  gazed  down  at  the  cap  he 
was  twirling  in  his  hands  and  said  nothing. 
The  general  relented. 

''I  don't  Avant  to  be  hard  on  you,  Eodney," 
said  he,  speaking  in  much  the  same  tone  that 
a  kind  and  indulgent  father  might  use  in  re- 
proving an  erring  son,  "  but  can't  you  see  for 


404  EODXEY,  THE  PAKTISATs". 

yourself  wliat  would  happen  to  us  and  our 
government  if  we  should  weaken  our  armies 
by  discharging  troops  at  this  juncture  ?    The 
enemy  has  a  hundred  and  forty  thousand  men 
in  our  front  at  this  minute,  and  more  coming. 
Memphis  is  taken,  New  Orleans  has  fallen,  the 
railroads,  except  those  that  run  south  of  us, 
are  in  Halleck's  possession,  and  if  the  enemy 
along  the  river  moves  quickly,  the  troops  we 
have  sent  to  fortify  Yicksburg  will  not  have 
time  to  lift  a  shovel  full  of  dirt  before  the  Mis- 
sissippi clear  to  the  Gulf  will  be  lost  to  us.     I 
tell  you  the  situation  is  critical  in  the  extreme, 
and  if  we  don't  look   out,  and  fight  as  men 
never  fought  before,  the  Lincoln  government 
will   have  us  in   the   dust   in   less   than  two 
months.     I'll  not  let  a  man  of  you  go,  and 
that's  all  there  is  about  it." 

The  general  puffed  vigorously  at  his  pijDe 
and  looked  as  though  he  meant  every  word  he 
said.  Was  this  the  man  who  had  promised  on 
two  different  occasions  that  he  would  lend 
Eodney  a  helping  hand  if  the  opportunity  was 
ever  presented  ?  Discouraged  and  perplexed 
as  he  was,  the  boy  could  still  think  clearly 


CONCLUSION.  405 

enougli  to  draw  a  contrast  between  this  arbit- 
rary action  of  a  so-called  government,  which 
claimed  to  be  fighting  for  the  rights  of  its  peo- 
ple, to  do  as  they  pleased  and  the  course  pur- 
sued by  the  Union  General  Lyon  at  the  battle 
of  Wilson's  Creek.  Rodney  learned  through 
some  prisoners  his  regiment  captured  (and  his- 
tory to-day  confirms  the  story)  that  Lyon  had 
seven  thousand  men  when  he  reached  Spring- 
field ;  two  thousand  short-term  men  demanded 
their  release  and  got  it  ;  and  the  Union  com- 
mander went  on  and  fought  the  battle  with 
five  thousand.  Perhaps  the  old  government 
was  not  quite  so  bad  after  all. 

"But  you  see,  sir,"  said  Eodney,  after  a 
moment's  reflection,  "my  comrade  and  I  do 
not  come  under  the  terms  of  the  Conscription 
Act.     W^are  not  yet  eighteen  years  of  age." 

The  surprised  look  that  came  over  the  gen- 
eral's face  showed  very  plainly  that  tliat  was  a 
point  that  had  slipped  his  mind  entirely. 
The  boy  had  him  there,  and  he  hardly  knew 
whether  to  laugh  or  get  angry  over  it. 

' '  And  do  you  intend  to  take  advantage  of 
that  provision  of  the  Act  ?"  he  inquired. 


406  RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

"  We'd  like  to,  sir,"  was  all  Rodney  thought 
it  prudent  to  say  in  reply.  His  superior  was 
nettled,  and  the  boy  w^anted  to  leave  him  in 
good  humor  and  get  out  of  his  presence  as 
soon  as  possible. 

"That  settles  it,''  said  the  general,  getting 
upon  his  feet  and  knocking  the  ashes  from  his 
pipe  in  a  manner  which  seemed  to  say  that  the 
interview  was  at  an  end.  "I'll  take  pains  to 
see  your  colonel,  but  I  do  hope  there  are  not 
many  in  my  command  whose  ages  are  under 
eighteen  or  over  thirty-five.  However,  I  may 
be  able  to  infuse  a  little  patriotism  into  tliem^ 
and  shall  have  something  to  say  about  it  in  a 
general  order." 

"I  thank  you,  sir,  for  the  assurance," 
replied  Rodney. 

.  He  made  his  best  salute  and  retired,  but 
during  the  rest  of  the  day  he  was  not  as  jubi- 
lant as  he  had  been  when  he  came  off  post ; 
and  when  he  went  back  that  night  to  do  duty 
at  the  general's  tent,  he  took  note  of  the  fact 
that  his  commander  paid  no  more  attention  to 
him  than  he  would  have  paid  to  an  entire 
stranger.     Rodney  felt  hurt    at  that,  and  as 


o 


conclusio:n'.  407 

soon  as  he  could  do  so,  after  guard-mount  the 
next  morning,  he  hunted  up  his  friend  Dick 
and  told  him  the  whole  story.  He  wanted 
symj^athy  and  encouragement  and  got  both. 

^'You  did  i^ierfectly  right,"  said  Dick, 
emphatically.  ' '  We  could  have  passed  the 
exaniiination  eas}^  enough,  and  in  a  week  or 
two  might  have  been  galloping  around  camp 
covered  with  gold  lace,  and  looking  as  sweet  as 
two  government  pets  ;  but  we  don't  care  half 
as  much  for  staff  office  as  we  do  for  our  dis- 
charges. You  made  the  general  mad  and  I  am 
sorry  for  that ;  but  after  all  it' s  natural,  for 
the  commander  who  discharges  the  smallest 
number  of  men  will  stand  highest  in  the  good 
graces  of  his  superiors.  See  ?  So  long  as  he 
keeps  his  troops  in  the  service,  it  doesn't  make 
a  particle  of  difference  whether  he  keeps  them 
in  by  promises  or  threats.  He's  a  bully  fellow, 
and  the  despots  at  Richmond  will  reward 
him." 

Some  of  the  sergeant's  words  were  confirmed 
that  very  afternoon,  and  in  a  most  startling 
manner.  For  days  it  had  been  whispered 
about  among  the  men  that  there  was  trouble 


408  EODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

brewing  in  General  Bragg' s  corps,  and  on  this 
particular  day  it  was  brought  to  a  head  by  the 
mutiny  of  a  Tennessee  regiment,  who  stacked 
arms  and  refused  to  do  duty.  The  twelve 
months  for  which  they  volunteered  had  ex- 
pired and  they  w^anted  to  go  home.  Before 
entering  the  service  they  made  provision  for 
their  families  for  just  one  year,  and  since  that 
time  their  State  had  been  over-ran  with  raid- 
ing parties  from  both  armies,  their  crops  had 
been  destroyed,  their  stock  killed,  their 
buildings  given  to  the  flames,  and  their  wives 
and  children  turned  out  into  the  weather. 
They  wanted  to  see  these  helpless  ones  taken 
to  places  of  security,  and  then  they  would 
return  to  a  man,  and  stand  by  their  comrades 
until  the  last  Yankee  invader  had  been  driven 
into  the  Ohio  river.  But  Bragg  said  they 
shouldn't  go,  and  fixed  things  so  they  couldn't. 
He  did  just  what  Beauregard  did  when  Hind- 
man's  Arkansas  troops  prepared  to  return  to 
their  State  to  repel  the  "invasion"  of  General 
Curtis.  He  told  them  that  if  they  didn't  pick 
up  those  guns  in  less  than  five  minutes  he 
would  have  the  last  one  of  them  shot,  and  they 


CONCLUSIOIS'.  409 

picked  tliem  up  ;  but  in  an  hour's  time  it  was 
whispered  through  the  camp  that  all  the 
service  old  Daddy  Bragg  would  get  out  of 
those  Tennesseans  wouldn't  amount  to  much. 
We  shall  presently  see  how  much  truth  there 
was  in  the  report. 

A  few  days  after  this  the  order  of  which 
General  Howard  had  spoken  was  issued,  and 
read  to  those  regiments  in  the  brigade  whose 
term  of  service  was  about  to  expire.  They 
were  informed  that  they  would  now  come 
under  the  Conscript  Act,  and  that  every  man 
of  them  who  was  subject  to  service  under  that 
Act  would  be  summarily  conscripted  unless  he 
chose  to  re-enlist.  The  regiments  to  whom  the 
order  was  addressed  had  all  performed  gallant 
service  and  gained  imperishable  honors,  and 
the  general  hoped  they  would  preserve  both 
their  name  and  organization  by  volunteering 
in  a  body  to  serve  for  two  years,  or  until  the 
end  of  the  war.  If  they  did,  they  would  have 
the  privilege  of  electing  their  own  officers,  and 
would  be  placed  on  the  same  footing  as  the 
other  volunteer  regiments  ;  and  those  of  their 
number  who,  by  reason  of  age,  were  not  sub- 


410  "RODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

ject  to  conscription,  would  serve  until  tlie  15tli 
of  July,  when  they  would  be  discharged. 

The  order  concluded  with  a  fierce  denunci- 
ation of  General  Butler's  rule  in  iS'ew  Orleans 
and  a  glowing  appeal  to  their  patriotism,  all 
of  which  the  men  cheered  lustily  ;  but  when 
the  ranks  were  broken  and  the  different 
' '  cliques ' '  got  together,  they  did  not  try  to 
keep  u]3  any  show  of  spirit.  So  far  as  Rodney 
Gray  could  learn,  there  was  not  a  man  in  his 
regiment  who  would  have  volunteered  if  he 
had  seen  a  fair  chance  to  desert  and  get  across 
the  river.  Desertion  was  a  thing  that  had 
never  been  talked  of  before  among  Price's  men. 
As  volunteers,  they  would  have  died  rather 
than  think  of  such  a  cowardly  way  of  getting 
out  of  the  army,  but  it  Avas  different  now. 
Even  if  they  re-enlisted  under  the  provisions 
of  the  Conscript  Act,  how  much  better  would 
they  be  than  conscripts  while  bearing  the 
name  of  volunteers  ?  They  would  be  forced 
into  the  army  against  their  will,  wouldn't  they 
— and  wouldn't  that  make  them  conscripts  ? 
They  appeared  to  submit  because  they  could 
not  help    themselves ;     but    desertions    took 


co:n^clusion.  411 

place  everj^  day.  Some  got  safely  off,  but 
those  who  were  caught  in  the  act  were  shot 
without  any  trial  at  all.  The  men  were  sullen, 
talked  mutiny  among  themselves,  and  Rodney 
Gray  looked  for  nothing  else  but  to  see  them 
rise  in  a  body,  kill  their  tyrannical  officers,  and 
disperse  to  their  homes.  It  was  a  terrible 
state  of  affairs,  the  nearest  apiDroach  to  anarchy 
there  ever  was  or  ever  will  be  in  this  country, 
and  during  those  troublous  days  and  the  sub- 
sequent retreat  to  Tupelo,  G-eneral  Halleck 
received  into  his  lines  no  less  than  fifteen 
thousand  deserters. 

The  farce  of  electing  new  officers  and  re- 
organizing the  various  companies  and  regi- 
ments in  the  brigade  took  place  in  due  time, 
and  once  more  Dick  Graham  found  himself  in 
the  ranks.  He  was  not  a  candidate  for  any 
office  and  neither  was  Rodney,  although  they 
might  have  had  commissions  if  they  had 
chosen  to  accept  them.  They  did  not  so  much 
as  hint  that  they  had  been  offered  something 
better  than  the  com2:)any  or  regiment  could 
give  them  —  a  position  on  the  general's  staff— 
for  they  did  not  think  it  would  be  policy  to  do 


412  EODXEY,  THE   PARTISAT^. 

it.  There  were  plenty  of  mean  men  in  their 
regiment,  as  there  were  in  every  one  in  the  ser- 
vice, and  since  they  could  not  get  discharges 
themselves,  they  would  have  been  glad  if  they 
could  have  kept  Rodney  and  Dick  from  get- 
ting them  ;  and  if  they  had  susj^ected  that 
Rodney  had  a  friend  in  the  general  of  the 
brigade,  they  would  have  re]3orted  him  every 
chance  they  got,  no  matter  whether  he  had 
done  anything  wrong  or  not.  After  this  the 
two  friends  waited  with  as  much  patience  as 
they  could  for  the  time  to  come  around  when 
they  would  be  free  once  more. 

During  this  time  almost  constant  fighting 
had  been  going  on  somewhere  along  the  line, 
and  although  Rodney  and  Dick  coidd  not  see 
the  use  of  it,  those  in  authority  could,  for 
they  w^ere  quietly  making  preparations  to  with- 
draw from  a  place  which  was  no  longer  of  use 
to  them.  On  the  26th,  27th,  and  28th  of  the 
month,  the  fighting  was  very  severe,  and  Rod- 
ney's regiment,  wdiich  was  at  the  front,  was 
badly  cut  up.  Although  Dick  Graham  w^as 
now^  a  x^rivate  he  was  called  upon  at  times  to 
do  duty  as  a  sergeant,  and  on  the  afternoon  of 


CONCLUSIOI^".  413 

the  28th,  he  was  sent  with  a  small  squad,  one 
of  whom  was  Rodney  Gray,  to  take  charge  of 
an  advanced  post.  It  was  much  nearer  our 
lines  than  were  the  trenches  in  which  the,  regi- 
ment was  fighting,  but  it  was  also  much  safer, 
for  the  shells  from  both  sides  went  high  over 
their  heads.  Here  they  remained  in  perfect 
security,  talking,  laughing  and  telling  stories 
while  the  roar  of  battle  was  going  on  all 
around  them,  and  waiting  for  their  relief, 
which  was  to  come  at  six  o'clock.  It  did  not 
come,  however,  until  after  nine,  and  by  that 
time  it  had  grown  so  dark  that  it  was  only 
after  infinite  trouble  and  bother  that  they  suc- 
ceeded in  finding  their  way  back  to  the  main 
line,  only  to  learn  after  they  arrived  there, 
that  their  regiment  had  been  withdrawn  three 
hours  before,  and  nobody  could  tell  where  it 
was  now.  Dick  Graham  didn't  care  much 
where  it  was,  for  he  had  no  intention  of  go- 
ing to  it  that  night.  It  was  more  than  three 
miles  to  camp,  and  Dick  saw,  when  he  passed 
that  way  three  days  before,  that  the  road  was 
blocked  with  wagons,  artillery  trains  and 
stable-lines,   and    to  these  obstructions  were 


414  rod:n"ey,  the  partisan. 

now  added  sleeping  men,  who  would  not  be 
over  civil  to  any  one  who  chanced  to  stumble 
against  them  in  the  dark.  So  Dick  drew  his 
squad  off  into  the  woods  out  of  the  way  and 
went  into  camp  ;  that  is  to  say,  he  ate  the 
little  piece  of  hard  tack  he  found  in  his  haver- 
sack, washed  it  down  with  a  drink  of  warm 
water  from  his  canteen,  rolled  himself  up  in 
his  blanket  and  went  to  sleep. 

"There  goes  reveille,"  exclaimed  Rodney, 
hitting  him  a  poke  in  the  ribs  the  next  morn- 
ing about  daylight.  "  But  it's  in  the  enemy's 
camp,  and  I  don't  think  we'll  pay  much  atten- 
tion to  it.     I  am  going  to  sleep  again." 

"  Say,"  said  one  of  the  men,  "  I  reckon  we'd 
best  be  toddling  along,  for  if  I  didn'  t  hear  wag- 
ons and  troops  moving  all  night,  I  dreamed  it. 
Let's  get  up  and  go  as  far  as  the  diggings  any 
way,  and  get  a  bite  to  eat." 

The  ' '  diggings ' '  referred  to  was  a  pile  of 
hard-tack  which,  when  Rodney  first  saw  it, 
was  almost  as  long  and  high  as  the  railroad 
depot.  There  were  several  thousand  boxes  in 
the  pile,  and  there  they  had  been  beside  the 
road,  exposed  to  all  sorts  of  weather,  ever  since 


CONCLUSION.  415 

they  arrived  in  Corinth.  Why  they  Avere  not 
served  out  to  the  men  instead  of  lying  there  to 
Avaste  no  one  knew  or  cared  to  ask  ;  but  every 
squad  that  passed  that  way  made  it  a  point 
to  stop  long  enough  to  break  open  a  few 
boxes  and  fill  their  haversacks.  Toward 
these  "diggings"  Dick  and  his  men  bent  their 
steps,  and  before  they  were  fairly  out  of  the 
woods  in  which  they  had  slept,  they  became 
aware  that  they  had  been  deserted.  There 
was  not  a  man  in  sight,  and  the  guns  which 
looked  threateningly  at  them  over  the  top  of 
the  nearest  redoubt,  they  found  on  inspection 
to  be  logs  of  wood. 

"  Beauregard's  whole  army  has  fallen  back, 
and  done  it  so  silently  that  they  never  awoke 
us,'  said  Dick.  "Let  us  hurry  on  and  get 
into  our  lines  before  some  of  the  enemy's  cav- 
alry come  along  and  gobble  us  up.  What  do 
you  see,  Rodney?" 

"I  am  afraid  we  are  gobbled  already,"  was 
the  answer,  "I  saw  some  men  dodging  about 
in  the  woods  over  there.  If  they  are  not  the 
enemy's  pickets  they  must  be  our  rear  guard, 
and    as   we   can't    get   away   we  had   better 


416  EODNEY,  THE   PAETISAN. 

go    over    and    make    ourselves    square   with, 
them." 

This  proposition  met  with  the  approval  of 
his  comrades,  but  it  did  not  seem  to  suit  the 
men  in  the  woods,  for  Dick's  squad  had  not 
gone  many  steps  in  their  direction  when  some 
one  called  out : 

*'By  the  right  flank,  march  !  "  and  the  com- 
mand  was  emphasized  by  the  sudden  aj)pear- 
ance  of  half  a  dozen  muskets  which  were 
pointed  straight  at  them. 

*'Who  are  you,  and  what  are  you  doing 
there? "  demanded  Dick. 

''AVho  are  you,  and  what  do  you  want  of 
us?"  asked  one  of  the  men  in  reply.  ''Are 
you  from  Tennessee  ?  " 

"  No  ;  Missouri." 

"  By  tlie  right  flank,  then,  and  toddle  right 
along.  You  want  no  truck  with  us  ;  but  if 
you  meet  old  Daddy  Bragg  tell  him  to  come 
and  see  us.     We've  got  something  for  him." 

"All  right,"  answered  Dick,  as  he  and  his 
squad  faced  to  the  right  and  marched  away. 
"Good-by,  and  good  luck  to  you.  I  don't 
think  old  Bragg  will  come  out,"   he  added. 


CONCLUSION.  417 

when  the  men  had  been  left  out  of  hearing. 
"  They'd  shoot  him  as  quick  as  they  would 
any  other  varmint.  There  must  be  two  or 
three  hundred  in  that  party,  and  they  strag- 
gled out  of  the  ranks  last  night  in  the  dark. 
They'll  stay  there  until  the  enemy's  advance 
passes,  and  then  they'll  come  out  and  give 
themselves  up.  Slick  scheme,  but  I'd  die 
before  I  would  do  it  myself." 

The  squad  halted  at  the  "diggings"  long 
enough  to  fill  their  haversacks,  and  then  kept 
on  after  the  arinj,  marching  with  a  quick  step 
and  keexDing  a  good  look-out  for  the  Federal 
cavalry,  which  they  knew  would  be  sent  out  to 
pick  up  stragglers  as  soon  as  Beauregard's 
retreat  became  known  to  Halleck.  They  were 
in  no  hurry  to  overtake  their  comrades,  for 
they  were  doing  very  well  by  themselves,  and 
neither  did  they  want  to  be  picked  up  and 
treated  as  deserters  by  their  own  rear  guard. 
But  if  there  was  any  rear  guard  they  never 
saw  it,  although  they  ran  into  another  body  of 
Tennesseans,  more  than  a  thousand  of  them 
this  time,  who  told  them  that  the  army  had 
gone  on  toward  Tupelo,  thirty-five  miles  from 


418  KODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

Corinth.  No  one  seemed  to  know  why  Corinth 
had  been  abandoned,  and  it  turned  out  after- 
ward that  the  Richmond  government  disap- 
proved of  it,  for  the  command  was  taken  from 
Beauregard  and  given  to  Bragg,  the  man 
whom  all  his  soldiers  feared  and  hated,  and 
wiio,  a  few  months  later,  said  to  the  people  of 
Kentucky,  ' '  I  am  here  with  an  army  which 
numbers  not  less  than  sixty  thousand  men.  I 
bring  you  the  olive-branch  which  you  refuse 
at  your  peril . ' '  But  proclamations  and  threats 
did  not  take  Kentucky  out  of  the  Union. 

It  took  the  boj^s  five  days  to  cover  the  thirty- 
five  miles  that  lay  between  Corinth  and  Tupelo, 
and  they  were  by  no  means  the  last  of  the 
stragglers  to  come  in.  The  men  Avho  had  been 
left  behind,  and  who  had  no  intention  of 
deserting,  were  nevertheless  bound  to  enjoy 
their  liberty  while  they  had  the  chance,  and 
some  of  them  did  not  arrive  for  two  weeks. 

In  x^i'ocess  of  time  the  descriptive  list  and 
discharges  of  those  who  came  under  the  ex- 
emption clause  of  the  Conscription  Act  were 
made  out,  but  there  was  so  much  red  tape  to  be 
gone  through  with  before  all  the  provisions  of 


CONCLUSION.  419 

the  Act  could  be  carried  out,  that  tlie  two 
friends  were  in  a  fever  of  suspense  for  fear 
that  something  might  hapi)en  at  the  last 
minute  to  blast  their  hopes.  Their  officers  did 
not  want  to  let  them  go,  and  the  slightest  hitch 
in  the  proceedings  would  have  made  conscripts 
of  them.  But  in  their  case  everything  worked 
smoothly,  and  finally  all  they  had  to  do  was  to 
go  to  the  paymaster  and  get  their  Confederate 
scrip.  Being  provided  with  passes  which 
would  take  them  as  far  as  the  lines  of  the 
Confederacy  extended,  they  took  leave  of  their 
friends,  not  without  a  feeling  of  regret  it  must 
be  confessed,  and  boarded  the  cars  for  Camp 
Pincknev,  which  was  located  a  hundred  miles 
from  New  Orleans.  After  they  left  the  camp 
their  passes  would  be  of  no  use  to  them,  for  it 
was  said  that  the  country  between  there  and 
Mooreville,  forty  miles  east  of  Baton  Rouge, 
was  over-run  with  Federal  cavalry.  They 
reached  the  camp  without  any  mishap,  ran 
the  guard  in  order  to  get  out  of  it  (but  that 
was  not  a  difficult  thing  to  do,  for  nearly  all 
the  soldiers  in  camp  were  conscripts  who  had 
not  had   time  to   learn   their  business),    and 


420  RODNEY,  THE  PARTISAN. 

before  they  had  gone  ten  miles  on  their  way 
toward  Mooreville,  came  plum^D  upon  a  small 
squad  of  Union  cavalry,  w^ho  covered  them 
wdth  their  carbines  and  told  them  to  ' '  come  in 
out  of  the  rain."  It  was  hard  to  be  "gobbled 
up"  within  two  days'  walk  of  home,  but  the 
boys  put  a  bold  face  on  the  matter.  The 
corporal  and  his  three  men  seemed  to  be  a 
jolly,  good-natured  lot,  and  the  ex-Confeder- 
ates knew  they  would  be  sure  of  kind  treat- 
ment as  long  as  they  remained  in  their 
hands. 

"You've  got  us  easy  enough,"  said  Dick. 
"  Now  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  us  ?  " 

"Take  you  down  to  Baton  Rouge  and  put 
you  where  you'll  not  have  a  chance  to  shoot 
any  more  Yanks,"  replied  the  corporal. 
"Where's  vour  re2:iment  ?  " 

"  We  don't  know  ;  and  not  wishing  to  give 
you  a  short  answer,  we  don't  care.  We 
never  shot  any  Yanks,  and  neither  do  we 
mean  to  go  where  they  are  again  if  we  can 
help  it.  We've  got  our  discharges  in  our 
pockets." 

"  Seeing  is  believing.     Hand  'em  out." 


CONCLUSION.  421 

The  boys  complied,  and  as  tliey  did  so 
Rodney  remarked  that  if  they  had  known 
that  the  corporal  was  as  white  a  man  as  they 
had  found  him,  they  wouldn't  have  "  come  in 
out  of  the  rain"  so  readily.  They  would 
have  taken  to  their  heels  and  trusted  to  his 
forbearance. 

"lam  glad  you  didn't  try  it,"  replied  the 
corporal,  reading  the  discharges  one  after  the 
other  and  passing  them  over  to  his  men.  "  A 
gray-back  streaking  it  through  the  bushes 
would  be  a  mighty  tempting  target,  even  to 
fellows  like  ourselves  who  don't  shoot  only 
when  we  have  to.  Have  you  got  enough  of 
the  service  ? " 

More  than  we  want,"  answered  Dick. 
Well,  you  can't  be  forced  into  the  army 
until  you  are   of    the  right  age,    and   in  the 
meantime  I  don't  suppose  you  will  do  us  any 
great  damage.     What  do  you  say,  boys  ?  " 

"  I  say  let  'em  go  home  and  see  their  mam- 
mies," replied  one  of  the  squad  ;  and  the 
others  nodding  assent,  the  corporal  jerked  his 
thumb  over  his  shoulder  and  told  them  to 

git.' 


U    r^i4.     5  J 


422  IIODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 

"  It  is  no  more  than  we  exi^ected  of  yon,  bnt 
we  thank  von  all  the  same,"  said  Rodney, 
gratefnlly.  ''I  live  down  this  way,  three 
miles  from  Mooreville,  and  if  yon  ever  come 
along  onr  road,  drop  in  and  we'll  treat  yon 
right.  The  monse  did  the  lion  a  favor  once, 
and  wdio  know^s  bnt  that  a  boy  who  is  not 
old  enongh  to  be  conscripted,  may  be  able 
to  do  something  for  one  of  Uncle  Sam's 
men  ? " 

"Good  for  yon,  Johnny.  Yon' re  no  reb. 
Any  np  this  way  %  " 

"  None  nearer  than  Camj)  Pickney.  If  there 
are  we  did  not  see  them." 

With  hearts  full  of  thankf nlness  the  boys 
resumed  their  journey,  and  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  second  day  following,  came  within  sight 
of  Rodney's  home.  It  set  his  eyes  to  stream- 
ing, and  gave  such  elasticity  to  his  step  that 
Dick  could  scarcely  keep  pace  with  him.  As 
he  led  his  friend  np  the  wide  front  steps  he 
recalled  to  mind  the  parting  that  had  taken 
place  there  more  than  fifteen  months  before, 
and  the  confident  words  he  had  uttered  about 
"driving  the  Yankees  out  of  Missouri."     He 


CONCLUSION.  423 

and  his  friends  had  been  driven  out  instead, 
and  there  was  no  hope  that  Missouri  would 
ever  belong  to  the  Confederacy. 

*'  Alabama — here  we  rest,"  exclaimed  Eod- 
ney,  pushing  Dick  into  an  easy  chair  in  the 
parlor,  which  they  found  to  be  unoccu23ied. 
*'  Stay  there  till  I  find  somebody." 

"I  don't  look  fit,"  began  Dick,  glancing 
down  at  his  dusty  uniform  ;  but  just  then  a 
door  opened,  a  lady  came  in,  and  the  words 
^'Mother!"  and  ''Oh,  my  son,  my  son!" 
told  Dick  that  "  somebody"  had  found  Rod- 
ney. 

If  ever  a  boy  appreciated  home  and  its  com- 
forts it  was  Rodney  Gray,  no  longer  a  wild, 
unreasoning  partisan,  but  sober  and  thought- 
ful beyond  his  years.  Here  we  will  leave  him 
until  the  time  comes  for  us  to  tell  how  Dick 
Graham  got  across  the  river,  and  take  up  the 
history  of  the  adventures  and  exploits  of 
our  Union  hero,  ^farcy  Gray,  whom  we  left  in 
his  home  in  North  Carolina.  Marcy's  ^^  Secret 
Enemies^^  and  his  determination  to  be  "  True 
to  Ms  Color s^^^  brought  him  into  difficulty 
more  than   once  ;  and  what  those  difficulties 


424  PwODNEY,  THE   PARTISAN. 


were,  and  how  lie  came  tlirougli  tliem,  sliall  be 
told  in  the  third  volume  of  this  series,  which 
will  be  entitled  "  MaPvCY,  the  Blockade- 
Runner." 


THE    END. 


famous  Qastlemon  H^ooNs. 


No  author  of  the  present  day  has  become  a  greater  favorite  with  boys  than 
"Harry  Castlemon;"  every  book  by  him  is  sm-e  to  meet  with  hearty  re- 
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George  at  the  Fort ;  or.  Life  Among  the  Soldiers. 

Illustrated.     i6mo I   25 

ROD  AND  GUN  SERIES.  By  Harry  Castlemon. 
In  box  containing  the  following.  3  vols.  Cloth, 
extra,  black  and  gold 3  75 

Don  Gordon's  Shooting  Box.    Illustrated.     i6mo.     i  25 

Rod  and  Gun.     Illustrated.     i6mo i  25 

The  Young  Wild  Fowlers.     Illustrated.     i6mo.  .       i  25 

FOREST  AND  STREAM  SERIES.  By  Harry 
Castlemon.  In  box  containing  the  following.  3  vols. 
Cloth  extra,  black  and  gold .3  75 

Joe  Wayring  at  Home ;  or,  Story  of  a  Fly  Rod. 

Illustrated.     i6mo ^25 

Snagged   and    Sunk ;    or.   The   Adventures   of   a 

Canvas  Canoe.     Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

Steel  Horse  ;  or,  The  Rambles  of  a  Bicycle.  Illus- 
trated.    i6mo I   25 

WAR    SERIES.      By    Harry   Castlemon.      3   vols. 

Cloth,  extra,  three  colors  and  gold.     New  Style    ,    .      3  75 

True  to  his  Colors.     8  illustrations.     i2mo.    ...       i   25 

Rodney,  the  Partisan.     In  press. 

OUR  FELLCWS  ;    or,  Skirmishes  with  the  Swamp 

Dragoons.     By  Harry  Castlemon.     Illustrated.    i6mo.     i  25 


J^lger's  ^enotoneb  j^^'^'^s- 


Horatio  Alger,  Jr.,  has  attained  distinction  as  one  of  the  most  popular 
writers  of  bojks  for  boys,  and  the  following  list  comprises  all  of  his  best 
books. 


By  Horatio  Alger,  Jr. 

RAGGED  DICK  SERIES.  By  Horatio  Alger, 
Jr.  In  box  containing  the  following.  6  vols.  l6mo. 
Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold $1  S^ 

Ragged  Dick ;  or,  Street  Life  in  New  York.  Illus- 
trated.    i6mo I   25 

Fame   and  Fortune  ;  or,  The  Progress  of  Richard 

Hunter.     Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

Mark  the  Match  Boy ;  or,  Richard  Hunter's  Ward, 

Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

Rough  and  Ready ;  or.  Life  among  the  New  York 

New^sboys.     Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

Ben  the  Luggage  Boy ;  or.  Among  the  Wharves. 

Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

Rufus  and  Rose ;  or,  The  Fortunes  of  Rough  and 

Ready.     Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

TATTERED  TOM  SERIES.  (First  Series.) 
By  Horatio  Alger,  Jr.  In  box  containing  the  following. 
4  vols.     i6mo.     Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold  ....       5  00 

Tattered  Tom ;  or.  The  Story  of  a  Street  Arab.  Il- 
lustrated.    i6mo.         I  25 

Paul  the  Peddler;  or,  The  Adventures  of  a  Young 

Street  Merchant.     Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

Phil  the  Fiddler  ;  or.  The  Young  Street  Musician. 

Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

Slow  and  Sure  ;  or,  From  the  Sidewalk  to  the  Shop. 

Illustrated.     i6mo i  25 


PORTER    &   COATES'S    POPULAR  JUVENILES.  $ 

TATTERED  TOM  SERIES.  (Second  Series.) 
In  box  containing  the  following.  4  vols.  Cloth, 
extra,  black  and  gold $5  ^^ 

Julius;   or,   The   Street   Boy  Out  West.     Illustrated. 

i6mo I   25 

The  Young  Outlaw  ;  or,  Adrift  in  the  World.  Il- 
lustrated.    i6mo I   25 

Sam's  Chance  and  How  He  Improved  It.  Il- 
lustrated.    i6mo I  25 

The  Telegraph  Boy.     Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

LUCK  AND  PLUCK  SERIES.  (First  Series.) 
By  Horatio  Alger,  Jr.  In  box  containing  the  following. 
4  vols.     i6mo.     Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold  ....       5  00 

Luck  and  Pluck  ;  or,  John  Oakley's   Inheritance. 

Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

Sink  or  Swim ;  or,  Harry  Raymond's  Resolve.  Il- 
lustrated.    i6mo.         I   25 

Strong  and  Steady ;  or.  Paddle  Your  Ovirn  Canoe. 

Illustrated.     i6mo I   25 

Strive  and  Succeed ;  or.  The  Progress  of  Walter 

Conrad.     Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

LUCK  AND  PLUCK  SERIES.  (Second 
Series.)  In  box  containing  the  following.  4  vols. 
i6mo.     Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold 5  00 

Try  and  Trust ;  or.  The  Story  of  a  Bound  Boy.  Il- 
lustrated.    i6mo I  25 

Bound  to  Rise;  or,  Harry  Walton's  Motto.  Illus- 
trated.    i6mo I   25 

Risen  from  the  Ranks;  or, Plarry Walton's  Success. 

Illustrated.     i6mo I   25 

Herbert  Carter's  Legacy;  or.  The  Inventor's  Son. 

Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

CAMPAIGN    SERIES.     By  Horatio  Alger,  Jr. 

In   box   containing  the   following.      3   vols.      i6mo. 

Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold 3  75 

Prank's  Campaign ;  or,  The  Farm  and  the  Camp. 

Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

Paul  Prescott's  Charge.  Illustrated.  i6mo.  .  .  i  25 
Charlie  Codman's  Cruise.     Illustrated.     i6mo.  .    .      i  25 


6  PORTER    A    COATES'S    POPULAR   JUVENILES. 

BRAVE  AND  BOLD  SERIES.  By  Horatio 
Alger,  Jr.  In  box  containing  the  following.  4  vols. 
i6nio.     Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold .    ^^5  00 

Brave  and   Bold  ;  or,  The  Story  of  a  Factory  Boy. 

Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

Jack's    Ward;  or,   The  Boy  Guardian.     Illustrated. 

i6mo I   25 

Shifting  for  Himself;  or,  Gilbert  Greyson's  Fortunes. 

Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

"Wait  and  Hope  ;  or,  Ben  Bradford's  Motto.  Illus- 
trated.    i6mo I   25 

PACIFIC  SERIES.     By  Horatio  Alger,  Jr.    4  vols. 

^     i6mo.     Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold 5  00 

The  Young  Adventurer ;  or,  Tom's  Trip  Across  the 

Plains.     Illustrated.      i6mo I   25 

The  Young  Miner ;  or,  Tom  Nelson  in  California. 

Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

The  Young  Explorer;  or.  Among  the  Sierras.  Il- 
lustrated.    i6nio I   25 

Ben's  Nugget;  or,  A  Boy's  Search  for  Fortune.     A 

Story  of  the  Pacific  Coast.     Illustrated.     i6mo.  .    .    .       i   25 

ATLANTIC  SERIES.     By  Horatio  Alger,  Jr.     4 

vols.      i6mo.     Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold 5  00 

The    Young    Circus    Rider ;    or.  The   Mystery  of 

Robert  Rudd.     Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

Do  and  Dare ;  or,  A  Brave  Boy's  Fight  for  Fortune. 

i6mo,    .    .         I   25 

Hector's  Inheritance ;  or,  Boys  of  Smith  Institute. 

i6mo. I   25 

Helping  Himself;  or.  Grant  Thornton's  Ambition. 

i6mo I  25 

NEW  VOLUMES. 

The  Store  Boy  ;  or.  The  Fortunes  of  Ben  Barclay. 
By  Horatio  Alger,  Jr.  Illustrated.  i6mo.  Cloth, 
extra,  black  and  gold i   25 

Bob  Burton  ;  or,  The  Young  Ranchman  of  the  Mis- 
souri. By  Horatio  Alger,  Jr.  Illustrated.  i6mo. 
Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold i   25 


PORTER   &   COATES'S   POPULAR   JUVENILES.  7 

By  C.  A.  Stephens. 

Rare  books  for  boys— bright,  breezy,  wholesome  and  instructive;  full  of 
adventure  and  incident,  and  information  upon  natural  history.  They  blend 
instruction  with  amusement — contain  much  useful  and  valuable  information 
upon  the  habits  of  animals,  and  plenty  of  adventure,  ftm  andjoUity. 

CAMPING  OUT  SERIES.  By  C.  A.  Stephens. 
In  box  containing  the  following.  6  vols.  i6mo. 
Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold ^7   5° 

Camping  Out.     As  recorded  by  "  Kit."     With  eight 

full-page  illustrations.      i6mo i   25 

Left  on  Labrador ;  or,  The  Cruise  of  the  Schooner 
Yacht  "Curlew."  As  recorded  by  "  Wash."  With 
eight  full -page  illustrations.     i6mo i   25 

Off  to  the  Geysers  ;  or.  The  Young  Yachters  in 
Iceland.  As  recorded  by  "Wade."  With  eight  full- 
page  illustrations.      l6mo I   25 

Lynx  Hunting.  From  Notes  by  the  Author  of 
"Camping  Out."  With  eight  full-page  illustrations. 
i6mo I   25 

Fox  Hunting.    As  recorded  by  "  Raed."    With  eight 

full-page  illustrations.     i6mo ^   25 

On  the  Amazon  ;  or,  the  Cruise  of  the  "Rambler." 
As  recorded  by  "  Wash."  With  eight  full-page  illus- 
trations.    i6mo I   25 


By  J.  T.  Trowbridge. 


These  stories  will  rank  among  the  best  of  Mr.  Trowbridge's  books  for  the 
young — and  he  has  written  some  of  the  best  of  our  juvenile  literature. 

JACK  HAZARD  SERIES.  By  J.  T.  Trowbridge. 
In  box  containing  the  following.  6  vols.  i6mo. 
Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold 7  5° 

Jack   Hazard   and  His  Fortunes.     With    wenty 

illustrations.     l6mo i   25 

A  Chance  for  Himself;  or.  Jack   Hazard  and  his 

Treasure.     With  nineteen  illustrations.     i6mo.  .    .    .       i  25 


8  PORTER    &    COATES'S    POPULAR   JUVENILES. 

Doing  His  Best.     With  twenty  illustrations.     i6mo.  $i  25 

Fast  Friends.     With   seventeen  illustrations.     i6mo.     i  25 

The  Young  Surveyor;    or,  Jack  on  the  Prairies. 

With  twenty-one  illustrations.     i6mo i   25 

La-wrence's  Adventures  Among  the  Ice  Cut- 
ters, Glass  Makers,  Coal  Miners,  Iron  Men  and  Ship 
Builders.     With  twenty-four  illustrations.     i6mo.  .    .       i  25 


By  Edward  S.  Ellis. 


A  New  Series  of  Books  for  Boys,  equal  in  interest  to  the  "Castlemon" 
and  "  Alger  "  books.  His  power  of  description  of  Indian  life  and  character 
is  equal  to  the  best  of  Cooper. 

BOY  PIONEER  SERIES.  By  Edward  S.  Ellis. 
In  box  containing  the  following.  3  vols.  Illustrated. 
Cloth,  extra,  black  and  gold $3  75 

Ned  in  the  Block  House ;  or,  Life  on  the  Frontier. 

Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

Ned  in  the  Woods.     A  Tale  of  the  Early  Days  in 

the  West.     Illustrated.     i6mo i   25 

Ned  on  the  River.     Illustrated.     i6mo, i  25 

DEERFOOT  SERIES.  By  Edward  S.  Ellis.  In 
box  containing  the  following.  3  vols.  Illustrated. 
i6mo. 3  75 

Hunters  of  the  Ozark.     Illustrated.     i6mo.    ...       i  25 

Camp  in  the  Mountains.     Illustrated.     i6mo.    .    .       i  25 

The  Last  War  Trail.     Illustrated.     i6mo i  25 

LOG  CABIN  SERIES.  By  Edward  S.  Ellis.  In 
box  containing  the  following.  3  vols.  Illustrated. 
i6mo 3  75 

Lost  Trail.     Illustrated.     i6mo i  25 

Camp-Fire  and  Wigwam.     Illustrated.     i6mo.    .       i  25 

Footprints  in  the  Forest.     Illustrated.     i6mo.  .   ,      i  25 


RARE  BOOK 
COLLECTION 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT 

CHAPEL  HILL 

Wi  liner 
462 


